Loight
by asukann
Summary: [title has got nothing to do with story] Sasuke's return but he's not a traitor. And with his return, so does a whole load of...? i can't make up my mind! Bleargh. Please read! My first ficcie.
1. Jam Sifar

**Uh, do i need to type a disclaimer? I've read the stories and ALL of them put disclaimers. So like, do I have to do that too?**

**'Niways, read on...and watcheva.**

**CHAPTER 1**

It was another of those horribly long days that Tsunade just hated. Piles of documents were stacked on her desk and silly complaints by the villagers were seriously tiring her out. As if it weren't enough, she could sense an intruder – and a very good one at that, considering that she could only sense him then – in her office. She sighed almost in exasperation. Not bothering to turn from her seat that was facing the window – for the time being (she needed to rest too, damn it!) – she called, "There's no use hiding, you know. I can sense you."

To her utmost surprise, it was a certain 'missing' black-haired Uchiha that stepped out from the shadows. Her look of surprise turned to one of annoyance when she saw the _sorely missed_ familiar smirk of the teen. His first spoken words to her in almost three years were sadly, "You should really increase the defence of Konohagakure, Tsunade."

The woman's look of annoyance was marred some more by a scowl that decorated her face prettily. Couldn't the brat show her at least some respect? She _was_ the Hokage, for goodness' sake! It was simply more common for youngsters to address her with the more respectful term of Tsunade-sama, Hokage or even Hokage-sama. Not just a plain Tsunade! Although there _was_ another certain blonde-headed shinobi youngster who couldn't get into his head that calling her a Baa-san was actually taboo…

At the same, though, she was actually impressed at the youth's ability to slip past a few dozen chuunins undetected. Hell, it was even impressive even for an experienced jounin!

"It's nice to meet you again too, Sasuke," Tsunade greeted dryly and crossed her arms, becoming serious. A frown graced her tired features. The Uchiha being there meant that there was trouble. A spy sent to stay with a target coming back before the specified amount of time _was _a cause for concern, after all. "So. What's up?"

Sasuke shrugged absently. Tsunade lifted an eyebrow at this seemingly harmless reaction. It may be nothing to most but as a Hokage, she noticed the slightest change in a person and Sasuke had really changed since the last three years that she had seen him. She could still remember the last time she had talked to him – he had been so high strung at the thought of the upcoming long-term mission he had to do that he had jumped at every single sound. He had scowled and glared at anyone glancing his way with an air of arrogant annoyance. Now, though, he looked more settled and almost at peace. It shocked Tsunade to use such words on the teen but she couldn't deny that he had definitely changed. The careless shrug was just a small part of it.

_Hmm…I wonder what that bastard snake did to him. Did I send him to the right boot camp to give him the right dose of ego-smashing? I hope _that_ is the case…_

"Tsunade?" Sasuke's bemused voice called her out her reverie. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Tsunade scowled again at the smirking teen and huffed. "Your report."

"Well, I guess it's just the usual… Orochimaru's going to attack soon and he's starting to _fawn_ over my body," Sasuke shuddered, "It was _disgusting_, I'm telling you! I just _HAD_ to leave that creepy old geezer..."

Tsunade looked at the muttering teen with a bit of exasperation. Orochimaru finally attacking and showing an increased interest for his body was the _usual_ news? Tsunade rolled her eyes. She wondered quite wryly what the snake had made the kid report. She shuddered as well at the thought. It was probably better not to think about it.

"Right…" she replied to this news lazily and regarded the younger Uchiha before her with a clinic eye. "You won't go back to Sound?"

Sasuke shook his head stubbornly. "Never. It's _CREEPY…_"

Tsunade sighed at his answer. Creepy – wow…the Uchiha finally learnt a new word! Free snacks and drinks to go around for everybody!

"You know that Orochimaru will obviously be after you, right? You can endanger Konoha like this. Are you sure you want to stay?" Tsunade prodded his weak spot for the village. Ever since he had returned from Itachi's attack three years ago, he had somehow swore to protect the village against the _psychotic-bastard-of-a-monster_ instead of only thinking of revenge for his family. Tsunade still wondered how the teen turned his mind around like that. It had been too late for Itachi, and too late for Orochimaru, so she had thought it to be too late for Sasuke as well. However, it seemed that she was wrong. He had told her that he would do anything to repent for being such an ass to the village. That was when she got the idea to let him be a spy for Konoha. It had been very risky to send a thirteen-year-old to a high S-classed mission – a thirteen-year-old! What was she thinking! – but the situation of the village and Sasuke's eagerness had somehow over-ruled her twisted sense of logic.

Now, the fifth Hokage watched the younger and saner heir of the Uchiha clan as he frowned a bit in worry. He never wanted Konoha to be so struck down again; and his friends…

He unexpectedly smirked. "It's no problem, Kage. I've been angsting about my revenge to Itachi as a part of my act for a while now. When the geezer told me of the attacks he wanted to carry out, I acted angry and gave him the reason that I wouldn't have enough time to _exact_ my revenge on the _bastard_ – not that I give a damn anymore – and before I ran off, I left a letter for them. It says simply, 'Going to kill Itachi.' Ingenious, huh?"

"Ah…" Tsunade raised her eyebrows thoughtfully. The diversion just might work! But just in case—

"I still won't tell the village of your return. They still think of you as a traitor and I don't want to create uproar, especially at such a time. You will also be basically staying with me in the Hokage tower. Do you understand me?" she replied him with her Hokage's authority voice. It pained her in a way to tell the kid that he wasn't accepted into society despite him endangering his life for the people. But she couldn't possibly tell anyone about his _mission_ – she had practically told no one, not even her trusted assistant, Asashi (I dunno her name) – without endangering the whole of Konohagakure. And as Hokage, she had to put the village's safety before any emotional hurdle. Besides, Naruto had been experiencing the ostracism since he was born.

Tsunade watched silently as a small, sad smile – so fast that she wasn't really sure she had seen it – flitted quickly on the teen's face. By the time she blinked again, the aloof mask was safely on again. Sasuke shrugged carelessly at her and turned away. "Whatever."

"And I will make you ANBU."

"Hn, whatev—_What_!"

EnD :whatcheva:

**Do I have to be cliched and type review?**

**Pshht. Watcheva.**


	2. Real Chapitre: Jam Satu

**Gaah! this is the first time i'm writing a fanfic and i'm already getting reviews! i lurve all of you who reviewed me!**

**ouh, it's not a TsunadeSasuke ficcie, k? sowie...**

**ah, niwae, here's chapter 2. i'm really irritated with the com right now, so yea, watcheva.**

**do i have to type the disclaimer again? guurgh...**

**CHAPTER 2**

Uchiha Sasuke, unofficial spy and infamous traitor of Konohagakure, youngest heir of the Uchiha clan, and the last survivor of the said clan's massacre,was grumbling under his breath. Why had he agreed to do something so troublesome again?

"Dam, fcuking old female dog (ehk, you noe...i fergot that i was not supposed to put swear words inside, so yea...)," Sasuke cursed under his breath and glared at the ANBU who had woken him up in the morning. The ANBU did not look away or flinch from it - which was rather impressive, considering that it was from an _Uchiha_ - but Sasuke smirked when he saw the man tense in response. Ifthe ANBU-the poor, unfortunate man who who had been chosen to wake Sasuke - had been any slower,he would probably be in the morgue by now.

"Good morning, Sasuke!" a sinfully cheerful voice called as the door to the Hokage's office opened. Sasuke scowled darkly at the blonde woman sitting at the desk. His eye twitched dangerously at the mere _glance_ of the said woman. Sasuke took in a deep shaky breath.

"Do you _NEED_ to wake me up at _such_ an _ungodly_ hour to do this?" Sasuke stated, his voice eerily calm. Tsunade felt a few of her back hairs go on end at the voice but decided not to show it. She forced a smile to her face even as her ANBU chose to betray her by _discreetly_ exiting himself.

"Ah," was all she could say as the man vanished with a dull 'poof!' "Well, it isn't _that_ early Sasuke.Four a.m. is the _perfect_ time for an ANBU to wake up! Besides, no one would be awake to notice you."

Sasuke growled, "Who said I _wanted_ to be ANBU?"

The blonde Godaime shrugged carelessly. "_You_ did, Sasuke," she told him . Before the teen could protest, Tsunade continued, "_**You**_ wanted to stay, Sasuke, because _**you**_ couldn't stand Orochimaru molesting _**you**_--"

"Wait, who said he mo--"

"and because _**you**_ couldn't _stand _being with the snake pervert,_ **you** _decided to_ hide_ behind an ANBU mask."

"Eh? But I didn't--"

"So it was _**you**_ who decided to be ANBU because _**you** _wanted to stay and _**you**_ didn't want to leave despite _**your**_ having to hide _**your**self_."

"Uh...huh?" Sasuke stared at the Hokage blankly as he tried to make sense of the short speech. " So...you mean to say that if _**I**_ become ANBU **_I_** can stay?"

Tsunade smiled gleefully at the boy's gullibity1. She nodded, "Yup. Exactly, Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked at her a while in disbelief. He abruptly crossed his arms.

"And what, in your _sane_ mind, makes you think I am even_capable_ of being an ANBU? I am still halfway through to being a jounin!" Sasuke retorted. He jumped at Tsunade's sudden mad cackle. Had the old woman finally gone senile?

"Being Orochimaru's team mate has its advantages, kid. Knowing him he probably he trained you _over_ the _**above**_ standards..." she grins.

Sasuke felt an unseen shadow being cast over his heart. "So...?"

"So let's test your skills..." Tsunade said maliciously. Sasuke gulped. He didn't like this feeling in his heart. He didn't like it **_AT ALL._**

"Uh...against whom?'' he asked, his voice barelya whisper. At that point, Sasuke wished he had not asked the accursed question. Tsunade's answer actually _chilled_ him to the bone.

"Well, who better but me?"

Sasuke knew then that he was a dead teen.

Tsunade was panting. Rivulets of sweat trailed down her face and her legs were trembling with the strain. Her ears picked up a soft disturbance and she tensed. At the last minute, though, she heard the boy's silent footsteps behind her and spun around just in time to meet a kunai in her face.

"How could you drop your guard like that, Hokage-sama?" Uchiha Sasuke stated quietly, his sharingan spinning in hypnotic circles. Tsunade forced her eyes from those mesmerizing orbs and let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. She grinned at the teen. No one - with the exception of her ex-team mates and a certain blonde Hokage - had made her feel so tensed in battle and won. For a mere sixteen-year-old to do it to her, even though she had barely used her chakra, was a great feat. She knew that the Uchihas were talented in speed but Tsunade was still astounded at how fast the boy could go.

"How the hell did you get that fast!" Jiraiya's wondrous question came before her own. Tsunade was curious too. She frowned slightly. Could Orochimaru have made Kabuto operate the boy to make him faster?

"No, Orochimaru didn't make Kabuto even _touch_ me," Sasuke said abrubtly when he saw the Godaime's face. He kept the kunai he was holding and let his sharingan melt away to his black orbs. He dropped onto the ground, unceremoniously sprawling onto the soft grass, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes. When he got back to Tsunade's - he'll be leaving there, remember? - he would take a nice, warm shower and go back to sleep.

"Oi, Sasuke, you alright?" Tsunade asked him absently as she dropped onto the grass beside him. Sasuke cracked one eye open.

"Um...Sleepy's all..." he replied as absently and closed his eyes again. He felt Jiraiya settle down on his other side and heard disbelief in the sannin's question as he asked, "How did you get that fast, kid? Even Orochimaru wasn't that fast at your age! And you'r almost as fast as _him_..."

Sasuke had both his eyes open now. He knew he was fast - he could even outrun the snake sannin now - but who was this _him_ Jiraiya was talking about? He glanced at Tsunade and saw her roll her eyes at the man, looking almost like the young woman that her appearance sported.

"Don't you dare get all mushy because of _him_ again! It's annoying!" she warned Jiraiya and huffed. As though just noticing Sasuke between them, she raised an eyebrow at him. "So?"

Sasuke was confused for a moment. Then he remembered Jiraiya's first question. He rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Try lugging around a pair of 100kg weights for two frigging years," was all he said. He lifted his lose black cargos to show the weights strapped onto his legs. "The mad old geezer even upped them to double what it was just late last year."

Tsunade was more than a little surprised. She had thought the teen had been wearing the cargos for fashion's sake - she had to admit that it looked good on him - or perhaps because he felt that it was comfortable. She would never have thought that he was wearing weights; much less having the cargos as covers for the weights.

"They're why I"m so sleepy nowadays. They take up so much energy to move. It's no wonder Lee's so hyper..." Sasuke went on. Jiraiya laughed aloud at the new discovery about Lee and Gai while Tsunade just shook her head in amusement. Another thought came to her.

"If you're so annoyed by them, why don't you take them off? You're not with that snake anymore, you know," she stated blankly. Sasuke shrugged and mumbled something about training. Tsunade rolled her eyes for the second time that day. Boys...It was so typical!

Anyway, Sasuke," she continued, "Congrats...You've made ANBU. Good news for the day, huh?"

Tsunade let out a snicker as Sasuke groaned. Being ANBU was good news? If he had to wake up at four a.m. every morning for the job, he didn't want it. The raven suddenly smirked when he thought of how he sounded like Shikamaru. He was yanked roughly from his thoughts by Tsunade.

"It gets better, Sasuke. _I_-- I mean, _you_ don't want _yourself_ to be known to the _spies_ so you'll have to be close to me at all times. To do that, you'll be my personal ANBU, Sasuke. You've proven to me for the past three years that I can trust you so you'll be my most trusted ninja," Tsunade's snicker became larger at the teen's horrified face. It was priceless. A hard pat sent him almost face-faulting onto the ground. The raven teen turned to dee the frog sannin grinning at him.

"Congratulations, kid. You've made elite ANBU!"

And despite all the _happiness_ being gushed all around him, Uchiha Sasuke was flabberghasted. How could they do this to him! They had no right to just shove the stupid rank and position up his ass and let himtake to it kindly!

"But I--" Sasuke's protest was cut off by Jiraiya's large arm draping itself across his slim shoulders. The white-haired man was still talking.

"Maybe we could go take a drink later, eh? To celebrate?"

"Wait, you ar--"

Tsunade now butted in. "A drink! Yes, finally you're using your pathetic brain, Jiraiya! I would _LOVE_ to _celebrate_ Sasuke's promotion with you!"

Sasuke sighed as the two sannins continued talking to the other as though he didn't exist. He wondered idly how Naruto and Sakura could stand them(he had known what had happened for the past three years he wasn't in Konoha through Tsunade's letters...). But then, they had never been _alone_ with _BOTH_.

Speaking of his team...

"Ne, where are the dobe, Sakura and Kakashi, anyway? I haven't seen them at all," he inquired plainly. He was indeed curious. Tsunade had said to tell his team mates of his return first but the said team mates were nowhere to be found.

His inquiry, in turn, seemed to silence the two - now bickering - _elders_ before him beside him. Perhaps it was just in contemplation to the question or the very possible fact that Sasuke Bloody _Uchiha_ had just said 'Ne'. Perhaps it was even due to both.

"They are on a mission right now. (**sPoiLeR aLeRt!**) Remember Gaara of the Sand? The one you fought with in the chuunin exam; the one with the shukaku?" Tsunade asked the raven. The teen nodded. How could he forget the kid? He'd had nightmares of that day for almost a whole month! What with the discovery of naruto's own kyuubi...

"Well, Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki - for his shukaku," Tsunade went on. Sasuke lifted his eyebrows in a sort of shock. The Akatsuki, where Itachi was, had gotten so close to Konoha?

"How is he now? And Naruto; did he get caught as well?" Sasuke asked almost anxiously. If Naruto, his first real friend, got hurt by the Akatsuki, he was sure his want to kill his brother would be reignited; twice over. Tsunade let out a small smile at the concern that was carelessly shown on Sasuke's features - not that he had known, probably. The boy really cared for Naruto; and she was glad. As the blonde had told her, Sasuke was like the brother he never had. She felt her smile widen. The brat wold be ecstatic that his _brother_ had returned; and hadn't betrayed him, no less.

"Oh, stop fretting, Uchiha! I'm not sure about Gaara but Naruto's fine, alright? He has Kakashi, Sakura and - last I heard from them - one of Sands' Siblings to babysit him!" she assured - or tried to - the Uchiha survivor. To this, she got a horrified cry of, "Who said I was fretting!"

Tsunade nearly melted into horribly unidentified slush when she saw the expression on Sasuke's face. He was looking terrifyingly _adorable_ with his crossed arms and childish pout. Tsunade had to admit; it looked better on him than even her cute blonde brat. It would probably _kill _her to act all mushy around the young Uchiha, so she settled for a _light_ pat on his back.

"Oof! What was _that_ for!" Sasuke exclaimed in result as he lifted his aching head from the - hard - ground. He rubbed his nose sorely and checked for any bleeding. With such a hit, he would be surprised not to sport at least a huge bruise the next day. Tsunade smiled apologetically at the harrassed-looking boy. Perhaps she still hadn't _quite_ controlled her strength yet...

Off to the side, Jiraiya was guffawing his head off at Tsunade's plight like he didn't value his life. As though wanting to confirm his death sentence, he joked, "That was a good one, Tsunade!The funniest thing I've ever seen in a long time!"

A moment later found the man twitching and bleeding pitifully on the ground. Sasuke watched nervously as the Godaime of Konoha now sat beside him again. He swore seriously then that he would never, _ever_ try the wrath of his Hokage. She was just too frightening! To divert her anger, though, called for a change of subject.

"Um, so when will they be back?" he asked just for the sake of asking. Tsundae glanced at him, a look of confusion crossing her features as though she had not been talking about the subject at all.

"Oh? Oh...you mean Kakashi's team?" she blinked lightly and shrugged. "Almost one week's past since they left so I'm guessing they should be back soon enough."

Noticing the abrupt change in atmosphere, she frowned at Sasuke. "Oi, kid. What's the matter with you now?"

When Sasuke still kept silent and instead began to nervously fuss with his shirt collar instead, Tsunade knew for real that something was up; and she was sure it had nothing to do with Naruto or anyone else for that matter. She decided to approach it as cautiously as possible; meaning total formality and throwing around her Hokage status. Sometimes she just loved her job.

"Elite ANBU Sasuke of the Uciha clan; I demand you tell me what is the matter this instant," she stated quietly. It was neither a demand nor a plea. She meant business with that voice and she rarely used such a voice on anyone. For her to do so meant the matter was quite serious. She wastched in silence as Sasuke took in a deep breath and turned to her with and absolute, shocking calm. The only female Hokage was taken aback for a moment. "Sasuke?"

"I've got the **curse**, Tsunade. I'm the bearer of **_those eyes_**. I'm _Suzaku_; the new **Pheonix**."

Tsunade did something then that she hadn't done in a very long while. She fainted.

**Done! OMG! I've finally finished the first _real_ chapter! **

**Next chappie hopefully coming very soon...!**


	3. Jam Dua

**GYAH! i checked and rechecked everything again but there are still errors! OMFG! (uh, excuse my language...) **

**i'll do better this time! and the (stupid) ruler doesn't seem to work. why?**

**to Priestess kurumi inu's sister; is it true? that there really is such a rumor? i really didn't know anything about it (i made it all up, actually, heheh sweatdrops) so if you might know more, please tell me!**

**to others who have reviewed, thank you! All my love goes out to all of you!**

Uhm, sorry for the late post...one pathetic word... exams...

**ugh. Next chap.**

**do I really need to put up the disclaimers when all you smart people out there already know the truth about my pathetic lie?**

**aniways, read on...**

CHAPTER 3

With ANBU mask dangling off his hand, one arm draped carelessly on his knee and the other draped over the back of the hard sofa, the raven teen sitting languidly in the lounge of the Hokage tower looked the picture of calm and relaxation. Half-mast eyes of dark lashes hid darker pools of obsidian. Equally dark bangs fell softly against milky skin and porcelain cheeks. The teen was definitely the epitome of all things cool and beautiful.

Even with the dark mask hiding the lower half of the teen's face, the blushing – of girls and boys alike – proved the point. Dark bangs fell away carelessly to show the full force of those sultry eyes. His quiet voice asked what the young woman at the door wanted with a simple, "Yes?"

The young woman grinned almost flirtatiously at the teen before her. But she wouldn't hit on the kid. It was too undermining to do it to someone who was still too young for her. Instead, she gave an appreciative whistle. "Three years with the snake did this to you, huh, kid? I like…"

The teen rolled his eyes at the other elite and tilted his head to look at the young woman clearly. "What do you want, Anko?"

Anko snorted. The kid still hadn't changed his manners after three years. She nodded her head to the back with a plain, "The Hokage wants to see you."

The teen sighed wearily at the summon, seemingly undisturbed at it, and got up from his seat. Even as he glanced drily back at her, Anko couldn't help pinch his tight ass. She grinned cheekily when the teen shot her a dark glare. Anko didn't care. She had just pinched the ass of someone she just _knew_ in the future would be **_the_** sex-god. Her grin didn't waver until the door closed. And only then did she let out a silent squeal. She had just touched the ass of Uchiha Sasuke!

:Anko is like, so dead: a fangurl banner

"You really aren't lying, aren't you?" Shizune whispered in nothing more than awe as she traced the markings across the abdomen of the pale teen standing before her. At the same time, Sasuke sighed and forced himself not to giggle at the soft touches the woman was giving his cursed mark. He would rather die than let _anyone_ know of his extreme ticklishness. It was basically why he steered clear of everyone. He was an Uchiha and Uchihas don't bloody get ticklish!

Betraying him though, was his undeniably trembling body and his biting of his lip. Tsunade probably knew because she was giving him _that_ look. In the end, he just broke and burst out laughing. Shizune instantly shrank back as though he had burned her. Sasuke could only wrap his arms around himself. "Stop…! Stop touching—"

He abruptly giggled instead at the young woman's shocked face. He wanted to stop but it was like he had been given laughing gas. While this happened, and Shizune stared, Tsunade only sighed.

"Sasuke, calm down," Tsunade ordered. Sasuke found himself listening and finally wiped the tears that had gathered in his eyes. It was the first time he had gone laugh-crazy like that because of a few tickles; and it felt good. He blinked then when he realized that Tsunade had said something. Shizune seemed to be blushing because of it.

"Uh, sorry, what?" he asked blankly even as Tsunade sighed again and Shizune flushed further. The Hokage shook her head.

"It's nothing," she put in lightly and turned serious. "Now, about that mark, you say it appeared suddenly?"

The teen nodded. He didn't bother saying anything else. It was just unnecessary.

Tsunade sighed again and rubbed her temples. All these were giving her a headache. "You _do_ know the power of the Phoenix is stronger than even that of the Kyuubi, right?"

The young Uchiha's blank stare told her negative. She rubbed her temples again. "Fine. Tell me what you know about it."

"Well, I know that this mark tells me I'm the new Phoenix – that's how I told you," Sasuke frowned, trying to remember more, "and I remember reading that it has side-effects to having the power…I forgot what, though."

Tsunade was thoughtful for a while. She suddenly snapped her fingers at Shizune. "Get the scroll."

Shizune was instantly gone with a curt nod of her head. Sasuke came forward as the young woman placed the retrieved scroll on the Hokage's desk. His eyes widened as he traced the mark on it. It looked like the ANBU's tattoo except that it was more intricately designed with a third wave curling out to the left between the two main waves. Four small curves surrounded the center of the larger waves like fingers grabbing for the spiral in the center.

"It's just like the mark on my body…" Sasuke breathed in wonder and clutched the spiral seemingly carved into his left side.

"Yes, it's exactly the same, isn't it?" Tsunade watched the teen nod and clasped her fingers under her chin in contemplation. "The strange thing is, this scroll was placed under ANBU history."

Sasuke's head snapped up at this. "ANBU history? But what has it to do with the Phoenix?"

"Wait a minute, alright? I haven't even said anything!" Tsunade growled, then sighed in exasperation. This was going to take a while. So as simple as possible, Tsunade summarized all that she knew; which was basically the origin of the ANBU and what their past connections may have with the Phoenix.

"Do you know the true history of the Hidden Villages?" Tsunade began. Sasuke shook his head and sat down when the woman gestured him to. Even _he_ knew that it was going to be quite long. Shizune took the hint and sat down as well – after checking that the door was closed properly and that the clerk knew they were not to be disturbed.

"In the past, Hidden Villages did not exist. Villages were just villages and ninjas, known officially as the shadow guards of the Kingdom, were a normal sight. Everyone was treated equally and ninjas were more or less given the respect that normal soldiers get – we were protectors as well, and the villagers respected that," the Godaime went on, "But, this was all before the Kingdom grew proud and thought themselves even better than the world that had just opened to them. The old king died and the new one thought the ninjas to be a threat to the country – a powerful force that could not be controlled.

"The shadow guard was tricked into an ambush and killed off. The survivors ran away to their families, seeking refuge at their home. News of their threat had spread, however, and the other villagers began to fear the ninjas. Whole families and clans were shunned and even thrown out a village. And these villages were kinder than others. There were some that were cruel enough to murder innocent families in cold blood.

"Chaos reigned everywhere in the Kingdom and at the mere mention of a ninja in your bloodline, no matter how recent or long past, you were either stoned to death on the spot or worse, taken to the camps to be humiliated and later executed in public. Age didn't matter anymore. False accusations flew around as people tried to get jealous revenge on each other. No one could be trusted. Anyone could be a traitor."

"The Dark Age," Sasuke suddenly spoke up. His voice was low and his eyes hidden. Tsunade started at it. The teen had barely spoken since she began. And to say a fact from a hidden scroll…Even Shizune looked perturbed. How did he know of such information?

"Ah, yes," Tsunade went on, albeit with less certainty "The Dark Age. It was during this time that the first Hidden Village was formed. Ninjas – and basically all those shunned – had run away to hide. They began banding together for protection and became nomads of the Kingdom. Although ninjas were scattered worldwide, the new king still continued his hunt for these ninja nomads and even turned it into a game. Such was the cruelty of his rule.

"The elite ninjas thus banded together into one community and made the first Hidden Village. Other Hidden Villages were only copies of it, Konoha being one of them. The elite nins called themselves the ANBU under the direct order of the Village Head, the strongest ninja of all others. They were the ones to end the first hidden World War. This is where the Phoenix comes in, Sasuke—"

"I know. I've experienced it," Sasuke said and looked at the Hokage steadily. Tsunade gasped. Instead of the cool obsidian orbs that she was getting used to seeing, red orbs of blazing life watched her. They were unlike Kyuubi's uncontrollable red or the Sharingan's calculating one. Tsunade had never seen anything like it before. Beside her, Shizune was glued to the spot at the power in those eyes. And to think that these were only his _eyes_!

"Ph- Phoenix…" she whispered in awe and gripped the armrest tight as those burning orbs turned to her.

"Yes, I am, aren't I?" the eyes closed wearily and the two women found themselves relax in their seats – for a moment. "It took me quite a while to come to. I've become quite the stubborn one, haven't I? And to come to now, of all times, I'm sure something bad is going to happen? I can feel an ominous feeling…"

"Um, yes. I'm sure you know why? Sasuke's memories…" Tsunade trailed off. She didn't know what to say. In all her training as Hokage, no one ever mentioned talking to _the_ _Phoenix_ before. Besides, there was very little knowledge about it and most that were known were either myths or tall tales told to children. An unexpected snort from the Phoenix started her. A childish pout coupled with those burning red eyes disoriented her for a moment. "Wh- What…?"

"Oh, come on, Tsunade. Just because I'm getting the Phoenix's past memories doesn't _mean_ I have suddenly grown an alter ego, alright? I am _not_ like that dobe or Sakura," the Phoenix – or perhaps Sasuke – interjected. He crossed his arms. "I'm still Uchiha Sasuke. Address me as such and nothing more."

Tsunade aand Shizune glanced at the other doubtfully. But if he had another's memory…

"Stop it! don't think too much! Memories are just memories. I am still _me_. Think of it as…being reborn. Yeah, that sounds kind of right," Sasuke frowned in thought at that and then seemed to agree with something with himself by a small nod. He turned to the two older women, a large _grin_ in his face. "Ne?"

Tsunade and Shizune only stared at him. That was fine with them. The thing that concerned them, though was—

"You're acting strange, Sasuke. Do you know that?" Tsunade voiced out the doubt. To this the raven teen unexpectedly laughed.

"I'll be shocked if I'm not!" he replied casually, lowering his burning orbs, "It's just one side-effect to having all these memories come crushing suddenly on you."

"Side-effects? You mean like one of those you told us about in having the Phoenix mark on you?" Shizune asked in all curiosity. Sasuke nodded _almost_ reverently – _almost_ because teenage boys just entering full-blown puberty _cannot_ look so _wise_, dammit!

"Memories are what shape a person," Sasuke explained thoughtfully, "They are like pieces of a puzzle thatfinally makes a whole person. Even if one piece of the puzzle is missing, the puzzle may fall apart or be incomplete to leave an empty void – resulting in amnesiac patients.

"Now, imagine having the jigsaw puzzle building perfectly, and someone suddenly comes along, messes up the pieces, and puts new, but _more ancient_ pieces in at the same time. What do you think will be the reaction of the person affected?"

"I'd be angry, of course!" Shizune blurted, and sheepishly grinned at it. She looked warily at Sasuke. "Is _that_ how you feel?"

Tsunade sighed. "Obviously he's not, Shizune. If he is, half the village would have been gone by now. And no; he's not insane – if he is, god help me, no one would be able to stop his rampage."

"_And_ I wouldn't be talking to you like this now, would I, Shizune?" Sasuke remarked lightly, a small smile gracing his features. Tsunade took this in without a second thought. The teen was still not himself. The normal Sasuke would have made the comment _drily_ and _smirked_. Tsunade gave a proud smile to herself. She was getting to have quite the Hokage intuition!

"Yes, Tsunade, you're improving," Sasukegave a bemused glance her way, much to her absolute embarrassment – and the horrified inner thought of 'How the hell did he know that!' – and cocked his head ever so slightly to the side. Tsunade could see that he was exhausted of some sort; the teen's eyes were starting to droop and the fire in his eyes was dimming. To confirm her deductions, the boy yawned.

"Ah, Naruto's coming! I wanna stay awake but the mental fatigue is getting to me…" the boy was obviously tired now. His words drawled and he was absently rubbing his eyes – that had turned black, by the way. He frowned sleepily at Tsunade. "Remember to tell them the truth! You promised me…"

"Uh, he fainted," Shizune stated the obvious and giggled bashfully at the sleeping boy. Tsunade took her time to perfect the art of rolling her eyes. She cleared her throat at her assistant and the younger woman blushed. Mumbling incoherent excuses, Shizune got up to pull the ANBU mask over the boy's face just as the door slammed open to show two haggard-looking chuunins and a grinning jounin.

"Tsunade baa-chan!" the younger blonde male of the grouppractically yelled obnoxiously. Tsunade could feel one of her veins threatening to burst in annoyance. No one called her a baa-cahn – grandmother, to any who don't know – and got away with it! Seeing the blonde's ecstatic face, a little marred by worry, exhaustion and sadness all meshed together, however, the Hokage decided to give the brat a chance. Instead, she placed all her frustration into the snap that she aimed at the unfortunate boy. "So you finished the mission successfully? And where's Kakashi? Don't tell me he overdid himself on his latest jutsu!"

The only jounin of the group went on grinning despite the last question being lashed purposefully at him. He even went on to reply it with, "He is definitely worthy of being my rival!"

To which Tsunade felt all her pent up anger and irritancy melt away to exasperation. She sighed. There was no use talking sarcasm and sense with this group; not with the village's self-proclaimed green beast, number one ninja in surprises – also known as the village's loud-mouthed ninja – and youngest and most talented – but schizophrenic – medic nin under Tsunade's tutelage.

They were simply too incomprehensible.

"Tsunade-sama, who is the strange ANBU? Is he hurt?" a young female voice asked her, concern clearly heard in it. Tsunade waved the topic aside and nodded to Shizune to take the unconscious Sasuke back to his room at her place. She told the green beast to give her the report of the mission by next week – and to check on Kakashi's condition – and _discreetly_ asked the two chuunins to stay. _Now_ the fun starts.

She linked her fingers together and placed her chin on them. She barely suppressed an evil smirk at the teens' curious but carefully blank faces.

"Naruto, Sakura…"

**end**

**of 3rd chappie, that is...**


	4. Jam Tiga

**I updated early! Uh, I think… **

**To Princess kurumi inu's sister; thanks so much for that info! I just wanna kiss you now! Muahmuahmuahmuahmuahmuahmuahmua— Eh...I should stop now… Psst, you might want to read the story Sassychan…? It's real good, you know. And may be a could-be to what may be? Hope you get what I mean…**

**To all who have reviewed, thank you! To all who haven't but have read the story niwae, thanks too!**

**oh, and the disclaimer thing...do i really have to do it? **

**Please read on!**

CHAPTER 4 

No matter what the crudely tiny perks were, Tsunade was absolutely hating her job right then. Not only did she have to attend to the number of complaints the government of her country was giving her, she had to attend to _this_ as well! She rubbed her temples in a vain attempt of making the throbbing in her head go away and faced the sobbing woman before her.

"Yes, Mrs. Hiwatari, I know how it feels to lose something important to you. My shinobi are trying their hardest to get your _cat_," Tsunade couldn't help but spit the darn word out, "back. In fact, to stop your sniveling calm you, I've sent one of my best shinobi to search for your dear _cat_," again, she couldn't help it – with the rise in the loss of cats in the Fire Country, it was no wonder she hated the feline name so much, "I'm sure he'll be back very soo—"

"Hokage-sama," the calm, familiar voice made her almost want to cry in relief. Tsunade gestured weakly at the ANBU standing discreetly behind the bawling woman – appearing so suddenly that it made her yelp – in his hands a mewling ginger cat.

"Oh...! My Kyou! My poor, _poor_ Kyou!" the woman cried in all drama and took the 'poor' cat in her arms. Tsunade waved her out after more dramatic apologies and showers of gratitude. The worn-out Hokage sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose instead. The stupid headache was still not going away!

"I think you need these," came the matter-of-fact voice that had saved her from the onslaught of over-dramatismis (is there even such a word?). Tsunade looked up to see the ANBU's blank animal mask looking down at her. In his outstretched hand were a few pills and a glass of water.

"Painkillers," he stated as blankly as his mask when she didn't make a move to take them, "You seemed like you needed it a lot."

A grateful smile came to her lips as she accepted the offers. "Thanks, Suzaku."

The ANBU seemed to roll his eyes behind his mask as he untied it and laid it on the messy desk. Dark eyes watched her silently as she downed the pills with the water. "You know, you can call me by my real name, Tsunade. No one's here to listen."

"But you're on duty," was all the Hokage said and smirked at the raven's grumble. "C'mon, Sasuke. The job can't be _that _bad, right? At least you get more time to train compared to the other ANBUs."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and snorted at the lame argument. "Yeah, I get to train _and_ do D-ranked jobs that were meant for _genins_. What do you think I am, your slave?"

Tsunade laughed nervously at his sudden intent aura of wanting to kill her and protested, "I don't have a choice, you know! Everything's been so busy right now; what with Konohagakure having to take Sunagakure's shinobi missions as well due to their lack of ninjas!"

Sasuke's attention immediately shifted to another. He growled audibly as he thought of a certain organization where his _favourite_ family member was currently in. "Damn Akatsuki..."

The door chose at that moment to be slammed open, however, so the 'murderous' conversation was - fortunately, for the Hokage - steered away. A flustered looking jounin rushed in after and Tsunade couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. She wondered how she could not have noticed the urgency in the chakra. An amused look passed on her face as she glanced to the side.

Despite the abrupt – and hence catching them unawares – entrance of the jounin, the younger of the Uchiha brothers had managed to put his ANBU mask back on. It was impressive to her that he had even managed to look calm and composed, as though he and Tsunade had not just been chatting casually. In fact, he was felt so silent and professional, the jounin was didn't really notice his presence.

_Really_ impressive.

"What is it, Sanada?" Tsunade quirked one wary eyebrow. If he told her that he just wanted to complain about _anything_, she would just—

"It's Team 7's chuunins, Hokage-sama! They're demanding to see you regarding what they say is an urgent matter!"

Taking a deep breath to prevent herself from just marching down and conking the heads of her two most favourite chuunins, Tsunade said simply, "Let them in."

The jounin nodded briskly in response and rushed out. Tsunade sighed. She just _knew_ they had to come today. She could already feel the teen beside her tense up at the thought of meeting his best friends so soon. His waves of anxiety were rolling off him in waves. She sighed again and glanced at the blank animal mask on his face.

"Well?" was all she said. Sasuke knew what she was talking about. She was leaving it his choice to tell his teammates. He could tell them right when they entered – exposing his ANBU identity at the same time; or wait till later – and hence keeping his identity as an ANBU a secret. Even as his mind raced, the door slammed open for the umpteenth time that day to let in two annoyed looking chuunins. Tsunade watched as the hesitant hand fall away from the mask and instantly knew that Sasuke had made his choice – wisely too. How did she know? Two words; Hokage's intuition.

"Baa-san! You said we'd be able to see Sasuke-teme today! Where is he then!" came the brash voice of a young adult. The voice was familiar, just like the owner's face but it was different as well. It sounded more mature, older. These were Sasuke's thoughts as he absorbed what was now Naruto. Although the blonde still wore loud orange clothes like before, it was more toned down compared to three years ago. The striking orange was countered by plain black, which covered the top part of the blonde's jacket (1). He was pleased that Naruto's clothes now fitted him rather than just hung off his frame.

He was _not_ pleased, however, that Naruto was standing a good two inches taller than him (2) and almost a head taller than Sakura. Sasuke himself stood taller than the pink haired kunoichi but he berated himself for being only half a head taller than her. As though trying to further decrease his belief in his own masculinity, Naruto also had a wider chest than he did. He cursed Naruto silently behind his mask. How _dare_ the dobe grew taller and more manly than him! Could it be his genes? Maybe he took more from his mother instead of his father! And why didn't his egoistic brother Itachi seem to have any of his problems? Sure, the older Uchiha was kind of short for a grown man, but he still had their father's looks. Sasuke didn't look like his father _at all_. And his height – Sasuke was sure it was because of those weights! And his curses found a new unfortunate target of Orochimaru.

Tsunade felt a snicker at the sudden change of aura from Sasuke. Oops. She had somehow _conveniently_ forgotten the small fact that during the three-year training with Jiraiya; Naruto had shot up suddenly, covering nearly a whole foot in those three years. Tsunade herself had been shocked to see Naruto's new increase in height but was quite pleased. Her brat had grown! Her tiny brat had grown into a tall young man! Though the naïve childishness – Tsunade couldn't really say that he was as naïve anymore, what with spending three years with Jiraiya, Konoha's own ero-sennin – still hadn't gone away, she could just _tell_ that Naruto had matured. It was probably another of her Hokage's intuition.

"Yeah, Tsunade-sama. You told us we could see Sasuke-kun today! Don't tell us that you changed your mind now…" Sakura was practically allowing her other self to take control – and Tsunade was a little wary about allowing the 'other' Sakura take over fully. So the fifth Hokage took down her small snicker and replaced it with a calm and composed look. Nothing beats her _serious_ Hokage look.

"Yes, I _did _say that, but I didn't say to_day_. You'll see your beloved teammate later; at night," Tsunade told them – sensibly, of course – and clasped her fingers under her chin to give the two chuunins her _thoughtful_ Hokage look. She waved them to the seats available in her office. "Sit. You have heard of Uchiha Sasuke's return and you know of his _special_ mission. I had left you at that to let you rest after your mission. Now I'll tell you in detail."

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other, their annoyance at the Hokage dwindling away to puzzlement and curiosity. Hesitantly, they took a seat. Tsunade could barely keep in the snicker that was threatening to ruin her cover. She should get an Oscar for this! She almost felt guilty at their sincere faces. Then again, it was fun. _Suckers…_

Tsunade noticed Sakura had finally taken notice of the other person in the room. She let out a proud smile at the teen; worthy of being called her apprentice. Naruto, however…

"You're the ANBU that fainted in Tsunade-sama's office yesterday, right? How are you now?" Sakura, the ever-ready medic-nin in-training A/N: Whoa. Didn't mean to do that., asked. Behind the mask, Sasuke raised a delicate eyebrow at the girl. He was surprised at the sudden concern bestowed on him. He had forgotten what it felt like to be worried upon in the village of Sound. After all, what existed there but loathing and hate?

"Yes, Sakura-san. But I'm fine now. I thank you for your concern," he bowed graciously to the pink-haired kunoichi, nevertheless – he still had to act the part of a professional ANBU and Sakura _was_ the Hokage's apprentice. Tsunade smirked at Naruto's bewildered face as he realized just then of Sasuke's presence. The blonde stood up abruptly, an accusing finger pointed to the raven.

"You were there all this time!" was his cry of alarm. Sasuke allowed himself to perfect the art of rolling his eyes behind the same mask. As the ANBU he was playing as, though, Sasuke only nodded to the other male teen in the room as an acknowledgement. He fought the urge to say quite childishly, "Duh." So instead, he said more professionally – and more bluntly as well – "Yes, Naruto-san."

And as Naruto began to ramble on about arrogant ANBU nins and their idiosyncrasies, Tsunade beckoned Sasuke forward. The raven-haired teen stepped forward curtly and nodded his head as per unstated rules. Sakura, who was blatantly ignoring Naruto, watched the exchange with a little interest. There had never been a position of being a Hokage's right-hand ANBU. Most of the time, the position naturally went to the ANBU captain or in this case, it went to the Hokage's assistant Shizune. So Sakura watched with quite an interest indeed at the exchange. She wondered idly who the ANBU might be to be able to gain such trust with a Hokage – and especially one such as Tsunade – to be made her right-hand man. She stored the small question away to be asked later.

"Tell him," the female Hokage said brusquely to the unknown ANBU and waved him away. The ANBU nodded and whirled away with a sudden stir of warm air. Naruto and Sakura stared at the spot the ANBU was in for a while. How had he done that? So far, almost everyone they had seen use a teleportation jutsu would produce a plume of white clouds. None had just faded away and whirled to nothing.

Tsunade smirked at the disbelief and awe sketched on their faces. "He's a gem, don't you think?"

"But who is he? I've never heard of any ninja who could do that!" Sakura exclaimed in a bit of puzzlement. It was true. If anyone could use such a skill, they would probably be well known because of it – in skill, of course – and Sakura, one of the masters of gossip, would know who the ANBU might be. All in all, it was puzzling.

"Yeah, baa-san, who's the know-it-all?" Naruto, still lingering on his bruised ego, retorted after his pink-haired teammate. Tsunade sighed and Sakura took her time perfecting the art of rolling her eyes. Naruto could be so childish at times. Sometimes Sakura wondered about what Hinata saw in the blonde. It couldn't possibly be much – all Sakura could think of that was good about Naruto was perhaps his wonderfully sculpted body and that hot, hot a—

"I told you, he's my right-hand ANBU. He…does stuff for me," Tsunade told them vaguely. The two chuunins were about to launch into another charade of questions when she raised her hand tiredly. "Please, you two. It's enough. You _do_ want to know more about Uchiha, don't you?"

The teens nodded and stayed silent as she went on, "Uchiha was sent to Sound under the guise that he wanted more power to defeat his brother. In actual fact, he had repented since that day I released him from Itachi's genjutsu. He—"

"Don't kid with me! If the bastard truly repented, he wouldn't have fought with me on the roof that day!" Naruto jumped up suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at the Hokage. She rubbed her brow tiredly and growled.

"Naruto, sit down or I'll be forced to _rip_ you out of this room," she threatened. Now, although Naruto was known to be the _dobe_, the _idiot_ or simply as _stupid_, he wasn't one to play with his life. Tsunade's threat may seem quite amusing, considering that she was trying to rip someone from a room, but anyone with a sensible mind would know the act involved a lot of screaming, broken bones, blood and a lot of screaming. So Naruto sat down.

"Fine," he huffed indignantly and crossed his arms. "Go on, then."

"I was going to," Tsunade snapped back. She leant forward. "As I was saying, Uchiha had been confused about the whole thing after being cured that he just snapped and exploded." – Tsunade glared at the blonde chuunin when he opened his mouth to retort; he closed them right back after seeing her glare – "Believe me, he was repentant. He cried after Kakashi brought him back; said he didn't mean to use a chidori against his teammates." – Tsunade sighed, remembering the day again. Sasuke had abruptly broken down into a tearful wrack after Kakashi deposited him back into the hospital bed. She had been the one to calm him. Yet, she was also the one to ask for this favour of him spying Sound and used him. It was all for the good of the village. Sasuke had agreed as well. Tsunade just hoped it didn't damage the young Uchiha that much.

"I was the one to ask him to go to Sound. I wanted a spy for the village's greatest threat. Orochimaru had Kabuto spying on us at that time. Because of that, he knew what was going on in Konoha that time. We had been so vulnerable. And then, I wanted a spy for myself as well – one that wouldn't be questioned for his being in Sound. Sasuke was the perfect choice. He just _had_ to take the mission.

"I asked him and he simply agreed. We made him ANBU straight away, though in secret, and told him to put up a front to convince everyone that he was a traitor. He had been hesitant at first, but then pulled it off so well that even _I_ thought it was real. The only indication that he gave me to prove that his loyalty was still with that of Konoha was that he didn't kill you, Naruto."

Naruto looked up at the woman at the mention of his name. She looked so tired suddenly, and Naruto found himself able to see through the guise of the youth the Hokage put up. "He was faking it all the while?"

Tsunade frowned. Faking wasn't really the right word for it but it would do. She shrugged. "I guess. I don't know about the fight at the waterfall, though. You were so determined to beat him that I guess he did the same as well." – Tsunade smiled thoughtfully – "It probably wouldn't do to be dragged back to Konoha before you could even start your mission, you know?"

Naruto looked a little sheepish at the thought and rubbed his head absently. Sakura was looking slightly amused at this new information – and storing them away for, perhaps, future gossip – as she played with her short bangs – she hadn't kept her hair long; she thought it too bothersome and she felt it gave her more freedom – absently as well. She started when Naruto jumped from his seat abruptly and with no warning. Her mouth opened to demand the reason but as usual, the blonde beat her to it.

"Whatever it is, the bastard still owes me a match! And I will make him acknowledge me again if I have to! That will be by nindo!" he cried – with the spirit and obnoxiousness that only an Uzumaki with a Kyuubi could muster up, of course. Sakura and Tsunade thus sighed. Then _their_ nindo would have to be to keep as much of this the spirit and obnoxiousness in check.

"Yes, Naruto," Tsunade said wearily. She waved the two out despite their protests. "Now go already. You'll see Uchiha later at night, alright?"

When they threatened to protest, Tsunade said, "I'll call you. Now shoo!"

As the door closed behind them, Tsunade sighed at leant back in her seat. Her arms snaked to the hidden drawer at her desk. In it sat her bejeweled and precious sake. She sighed for the umpteenth time that day, though this time, it was more due to being in heaven suddenly. She pulled out her beloved sake cup, then thought better of it and instead just chugged the whole bottle down.

She burped contentedly, for the first time in her life looking very much like a fat, smiling cat. "Sake…"

**End. **

**BLEARGH. **

**:watcheva:**

(1) please refer to the manga to know what Naruto's clothes look like. The designs that are written are not original…

(2) I'm not following their heights as according to the manga and anime, so sorry! I just think that even though Sasuke's taller than Naruto while they were kids, Naruto should grow taller after three years. I mean, clearly Naruto's a Caucasian and Sasuke's an Asian. It might be a little unfair to Asians – don't worry I'm Asian too(and also one of the shorter ones in my class) – but Caucasians are obviously taller. If you're still not convinced, then take it that Sasuke's malnourished in Otogakure. He would have trained a lot, after all and Orochimaru's a sadistic guy…


	5. Jam Empat

**alrightz, here's another chappie! school AND hari raya - a festival of a sort that goes on for about a whole month - is next week so i'll be very busy...i'll try to update the next chappie after this sooner.**

**anywayz, happy reading!**

**-disclaimer in previous chappie-**

CHAPTER 5

"So, you're back, eh?" was all Kakashi said at the stoic ANBU standing by the side of his bed. He was, as per the rules of the universe, reading his favourite, dirty, orange book (A/N: did you know that my little cousin thought it was a fighting book? Lolz…). At the lack of response it got him, he looked up. The blank cat mask that stared back at him seemed to smile – though it was sort of smiling on its own already. Even so, he frowned. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't laugh," came the monotonous voice automatically. Kakashi sighed at the lack of spirit in the voice. It really didn't suit the amused cat face that the owner was wearing. It was just wrong to Kakashi. He laughed weakly and scratched at the mask covering his lower face.

"Eheheh…uh, really? I thought you were…" he replied to the continuously blank mask and swallowed in an attempt to curb the dryness in his throat. "Ne, Sasuke, could you take off your mask? It's kind of, uh, distracting…"

"Do you need me to call the doctor?" the voice asked suddenly. Kakashi raised both his eyebrows in alarm. Call the doctor? But there was nothing wrong with him! He didn't need a doctor! He blinked at the mask of the ANBU. Only one thing could be spluttered out his mouth. "E- Eh?"

The ANBU tilted his head down to the side as pale, slender fingers unknotted the mask from his face. The voice almost purred to Kakashi's shocked ears. "I said, Kakashi-_sensei_, do you need me to call the doctor? You seem to be affected with exhausted delusion still."

Kakashi's eyes – or the one visible eye – flashed. He sat up straighter in his bed, for once dropping his book carelessly. As the mask slid away from the ANBU's face, the older man gasped, his eyebrows furrowing deeper against the other. Sasuke stared back with the same blankness as the mask. He wasn't really sure how to react to his former team leader. And how would Kakashi react to him? Was he relieved that he wasn't hurt? Perhaps it was more probable to think that the gray haired jounin was angry for not being informed about his progress on the mission and his return.

"Kakashi, I'm sorr—"

Kakashi's dark voice accused him suddenly. "You've grown prettier."

Sasuke felt his eyes grow wide as saucers. What the hell was the jounin on about now? He found himself snapping, quite irritated, "Well, you've grown uglier."

The raven teen gulped, almost loud enough to be heard, as his once-been superior locked his dark eyes with his own obsidian orbs. Sasuke was sure then that Kakashi was angry; for why else was he so quiet and solemn like that. Or could it be that he had some very bad news to pass to him. Maybe that could be the reason to Tsunade sending him to Kaka—

Kakashi abruptly giggled. Sasuke blinked at the jounin dumbly. Then he growled. "What the hell are you giggling about, Kakashi?"

The giggles turned to chuckles, then into full-blown laughter. Sasuke was officially confused now. What the _hell_ was wrong with his crazy porn-loving teacher now! Sasuke crossed his arms, well…crossly, and pout-glared at the man. He would wait it out and remain still sane through this. He swore on it.

-TT-

Night.

"Time for their 'visit', eh?" Tsunade chuckled and sipped her hidden sake languidly. She would_ have_ to ask her 'personal' ANBU to tell her what happened. It was too good to miss out on it. She grinned. "Good luck, Suzaku."

----

Sasuke tugged on his shirt absently. His former teammates would be coming soon. He was excited to meet them, that was for sure. At the same time, though, he was nervous and quite anxious about their reaction. Would they hate him for not telling them the truth? Would they be worried about him like he was for them? Would they be happy at his return?

Sasuke took in a deep breath to calm himself. He smiled in amusement. _It's like I'm going to battle…_

He just hoped they would not be like Kakashi.

--

To say that Naruto was nervous would be more than an understatement. His heart was beating as though he was going to the gallows and he was trembling. Naruto could not remember the last time he trembled in such a way. _Yes I do. It was when Sasuke was dying in my arms…_

Naruto was going to meet his friend, his _best_ friend, after three whole years of thinking that the other teen had betrayed him and the whole of his village. Of course, now that he knew the teen had done no such thing and had only gone with the snake to spy, he couldn't get around the feelings of hate that he had felt so deeply. His cold hand found a warmer source of comfort and grasped at it. He smiled bravely at his other best friend as she squeezed his hand back in support.

Her soft voice whispered encouragingly, "He doesn't hate you, alright? Tsunade-sama said he was only doing it as an undercover spy, after all…"

So with a small nod, Naruto opened the door, Sakura following silently behind him. He had expected a derisive snort, a welcoming punch, or even a well-aimed insult heading towards him the moment he stepped into the room. He hadn't expected the room to be dark – not scary, tense dark but peaceful, calm dark – with only the pale moonlight pouring in the open balcony door to give the room and unearthly glow. Sakura gasped lightly as they stepped in, unconsciously closing the door against this other world.

Both chuunins were silent, as though afraid of breaking whatever spell had been cast over the room. The air seemed fragile and to speak would make it even more so. They padded quietly and warily to the source of light – the balcony – feeling a presence waiting just behind the billowing white curtains but not seeing who it may be.

A stunned silence.

Then, Sakura's hushed, "I- Is that…"

Naruto could only stare at the pale figure before him. Ebony hair, so black that it shone blue, fell carelessly into long, dark lashes that adorned fragile features. The figure looked part of the room; he was just too ethereal to Naruto. Yet, the blonde knew in his heart who it was; no matter how he had pretended to betray them or lied about it. It was somehow undeniably the best friend that had left him three years ago.

Sasuke.

He looked different, no longer the angst-filled boy Naruto had known. Only three years had passed but the teen standing before him was no longer a child but a young man. His face had thinned out from the baby fat and his eyes no longer held the empty indifference. In it, now swam dark pools of clear emotion, no longer hidden away. A hard look, coupled with flashes of sadness made Naruto wonder what the other teen had experienced in Sound to make him like that. The anger and irritance that the used to radiate from him also seemed to be non-existant. He looked softer. All in all, he was beautiful.

Like a beautiful, fallen angel.

"S- Sasuke…?"

The raven turned to him almost gracefully. Naruto could barely believe his eyes as Sasuke smiled bashfully at him. "Naruto, Sakura."

-'v'-

Sakura fidgeted in her seat. She felt awkward; the whole situation felt awkward. She felt the undeniable urge to gulp but was afraid to make even an insignificant sound such as that. Her green eyes looked up shyly to the newly returned Uchiha Sasuke. Her heart fluttered as she did so. She couldn't deny that her old teammate had grown, if possible, more beautiful than he had been three years ago. Her fangirl instincts went into overload. There would certainly be more competition for the young Uchiha – girl _and_ boy alike.

"Um, so, how have you been doing, uh, Sasuke?" Naruto was vainly making an attempt at a conversation even then. Sakura knew the blonde felt guilty for the unbidden emotions he had felt for the raven for the past three years. It showed clearly on his face and in the tense voice he was using to speak. The pink haired kunoichi glanced at Naruto with a small approving smile. At least he was making an effort.

She almost glared at Sasuke for simply shrugging his shoulders at the question. Those terrifyingly different, yet so familiar, eyes looked up at the two chuunin. "How have _you_ been?"

A familiar spark of annoyance bit at Naruto and he found himself standing up with a shaking fist. "Hey, I asked you first, bloody teme!"

The familiar smirk slid onto the doll-like porcelain face. "And why should I answer your question first," Sasuke paused before adding cheekily, "blonde dobe idiot?"

And then, Naruto blew up. "Who are you calling a blonde dobe idiot, bloody teme! _You're_ the insufferable mental idiot who only knows how to make others worry!"

At this, Sakura just had to intervene and add, in her naturally concerned 'big-sister instinct', "Yes, Sasuke-kun, you really made us worried!"

An unreadable emotion came over his features. "Were you really worried about me?"

Naruto and Sakura blinked at the quiet question shot back at them. They couldn't really answer it; even if they _had_ been worried about him, it was only _after_ they had known the truth. Sure, they had thought about him once in a while in the three years, but they had never been _truly_ worried. Perhaps if they had been told earlier…

"To hell with that, Sasuke! We're worried about you _now_. _I'm_ worried about you now. Just in this short while, I can see that you've changed. And- And it _scares_ me, Sasuke. Are you the same teme that I know three years ago? I'm confused as well; were your feelings about me that time true? Do you- Do you really _hate_ me?" Naruto's outburst shocked the other two shinobi in the small hostel. Sakura bowed her head, sadness and sincere concern visibly shining in her eyes. Sasuke simply took it all in without a flinch. The only thing that said he heard would be his fiercely glittering orbs of darkest night.

None of them knew what to truly answer so they let silence reign supreme over their small group. Awkwardness and a sudden cold and hostile feeling also invited themselves into the already uncomfortable 'party'. Sakura could feel her fingers twitching in that familiar way of telling her that she was quite stressed up. Her mind was screaming at her to do something, anything. It was in denial to the truth of what team seven, the infamous team of close-knit genins and their jounin team leader, had become. It hurt.

_The truth always hurts, Sakura…_

"No," the smooth and quiet tenor of Sasuke's voice was suddenly heard. The two chuunins looked up in surprise at the teen. Both their eyes shone with stubbornly held tears and pure confusion. Of the three, they hadn't expected _Uchiha Sasuke_ of all people to break the silence – he was usually the one to prolong it. The raven teen looked beaten and suddenly more fragile than even his looks gave away. From the corner of his eye, a lone tear broke free of its restraining walls. "No, Naruto, I don't hate you. Please don't think that. I can't possibly bear the thought of such a thing. You're my best friend, Naruto…"

"S- Sasuke…" Naruto's own hesitant tenor threatened to break. Only one thought kept replaying over and over in his mind. _Sasuke doesn't hate me, Sasuke doesn't hate me, Sasuke doesn't hate me…_

A strangled sob unexpectedly escaped from the young ANBU. Without a thought, Sakura rushed forward to catch him as he fell to his knees. Her worried voice asked frantically, "Sasuke-kun, what's wrong? Tell me, Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto slowly took a step towards his kneeling teammates. He was trembling again. And once again, he was afraid. His sky-blue eyes widened in its fear as he stared at the crying Sasuke. It didn't fit well with him, Sasuke crying. After all, the slightly older teen was usually the stable emotional support to the two chuunins. The one that did the crying, bawling and breaking down were usually either him or Sakura. Thus, he wasn't sure at all on what to do in such a situation. A part of his mind thought childishly; perhaps the raven-haired teen was spoilt? "S- Sasuke…wh- what's wrong with you?"

Through the muffled sobs in Sasuke's hands, the two heard his broken speech. "I'm happy…so happy…Naruto and Sakura don't hate me…both of you don't hate me…so happy…"

Much to their further shock, the teen looked up tearfully, for once, a sincere smile on his face. "I'm so happy…"

The tears now ran freely down Sakura's cheeks. She wrapped her arms protectively around her old crush. "I'm happy too, Sasuke-kun…that you're back, safe and sound…"

Naruto sniffed defiantly at his streaming tears and gruffly joined the comfortable pair on the floor, his long arms easily circling the two slimmer teens. His voice was equally gruff as he added, "Yeah, teme. I'm happy too."

-;;-

From the shadows of the peacefully swaying leaves of the tree just outside the hostel window, a lone figure watched the light scene with quite the nasty smile on his face.

_This would be too good an ending for you, Uchiha Sasuke…_

_**Yeah, and it stops here. Sorry.**_

**eh, sorry for the cliffie. didn't mean to end it like that, honest. uh, reviews? **

**i think?**

:watcheva:


	6. Jam Lima

**waaaaah! sorry i f i updated late! but i made the chapter longer...?**

**ok, fine, don't forgive me. bleargh. this chapter's a little fluff and loadsa craziness(sorta) i guess. sasuke's a lil' ooc but i think i like the way he is now..? or do you still want him as the arrogant prick with a sharp, painful stick shoved up his, uh, butt?**

**yea...um, please enjoy! uh, dozo.**

CHAPTER 6

It was 10.18 in the morning. No matter what others may say, Naruto wasn't nervous; he had just woken a _tad_ too early and couldn't get back to sleep. Yes, that was the _exact_ reason to why he was standing at Team seven's old meeting place at the bridge, more than half an hour earlier than the appointed time to meet at eleven later.

Or so his denial mind was whispering blatantly to him.

Then again, he couldn't deny that he was nervous – more nervous than anxious now that he knew Sasuke still accepted him as a best friend – and excited about the day. Team seven, with the exception of Kakashi, was going out that day. Naruto wondered what Sasuke was wearing. The other teen still had to hide his identity from the public so the blonde was sure the raven would wear a disguise. He himself was wearing something that was casual, yet smart – he'd had a tough time thinking of what to wear before deciding on a warm orange shirt coupled with a pair of black jeans and a cool belt he had bought but didn't know when to wear. He was as dressed up as much as he could without seeming dressed up. Which meant dressing up without dressing up. Whatever it was, Naruto didn't want to seem over-dressed or too casual either. It was a special day and he wanted to feel special – in a dressing up sort of way, of course.

**You're strung up, kit**, a dark chuckle echoed in his mind, **You going on your first date or something?**

"I am _not_ strung up! And I am _definitely_ not on a _first_ date!" Naruto hissed angrily and out loud. Even though he knew it would seem dumb to talk to seemingly empty air, he didn't really care. He just had to vent out some of his nervousness and besides, no one was there then—

Right?

_Stupid old fox…_he retorted back in his mind as the chuckle rang louder in his mind. He really hated it sometimes that the Kyuubi could sense his thoughts. It was as though he had no effing privacy, damn it! Caught in his inner conversation, Naruto barely realized the other presence beside him until the said presence tapped him on his shoulder. It was embarrassing to say that he had actually shrieked, and he wished dearly that you readers hadn't read the sentence that you are reading now, for he couldn't deny it anymore. Still, he could twist the words so that he had _manly_ shrieked instead, if there were such a thing – my brother would probably love such a thing; he shrieks like, almost every day of his life.

Back to the story and the current situation Naruto was in, Sakura laughed at the blushing blonde. It was the first time she had heard Naruto – manly, hot bod, goddamn sexy machoist blonde a.k.a. Naruto – raise his voice even _half_ an octave higher to scream, or, in Naruto's denial point of view, yell. It was quite the thing to gossip about. And Sakura made it quite known to her teammate with a simple, "Well, _that_ would be the thing to gossip about!"

To this, Naruto glared – his flushed face did nothing to help – and crossed his arms childishly. If it were any other person, he would have stuck out his tongue for added measure, but this was _Sakura-chan_. He could never, and would never, think of doing such a thing to his _Sakura-chan_. He pouted – in all his manliness, of course – when the girl went on laughing after a long moment and decided to change the subject at hand.

"Ano sa, ano sa, Sakura-chan, what are you doing here so early?" he was whining, he knew, but he didn't particularly care at that moment. The kunoichi's laughter stopped abruptly as her mood did a 180 degree turn. Her twinkling eyes turned dark and suspicious, her face cynical as she glanced the blonde up and down. Naruto thought that it was disturbing and scary how girls – especially those with a double personality problem – could do that.

"Wait a minute…you can't possibly Naruto! Naruto's _never_ early!" Sakura exclaimed in nothing less than shock at the new realization. Emerald green eyes narrowed at the blonde's confused frown. She was sure the being, the _gorgeous entity_, before her was an imposter. For it couldn't be possible that Naruto, the blonde _idiot_, and _loser_, had such wide shoulders or alluring blue eyes. Naruto couldn't _possibly _have the fashion sense to look like the _hot punk_ that she was practically drooling over, then.And his nose was just too straight and perfect to be real! Her eyes narrowed further as they took in his boyishly masculine jaw. It was _definitely_ an imposter standing so confidently before her.

The imposter laughed sheepishly as he rubbed his neck in a familiar sheepish gesture. A light blush adorned the Naruto trademark grin cutely on the blonde's handsome, fox-like face. "I thought that maybe I could be early today, Sakura-chan. It's a special day for our team again, after all… Ano, Sakura-chan, why are you looking at me like that?"

He barely had time to dodge as a hard punch swung skillfully his way. He yelped noisily as another fist came his way. Lifting his two hands in an act of peace, he tried to reason to the apparently deranged girl. "Sakura-chan! What are you doing?! If I did anything wrong, I'm sorry! Please stop! You don't want Sasuke to meet us here only to see us fighting, do you?!!"

"Sasuke…kun?" the girl finally paused mid-strike. She blinked in puzzlement at the cowering Naruto before her. Her head tilted to the side in question. Any sign of hostility in her green eyes were now replaced by a growing confusion. "Naruto?"

"Ano sa, are you okay now, Sakura-chan?" he asked timidly. The teen knew of his teammate's strange and sudden change to the violent personality since he knew of her training with Tsunade just a month ago. He had been frightened the first time he had experienced it – he still couldn't figure out what he did wrong; he had just asked her which snack she preferred most – and he was just as frightened then. The pink-haired kunoichi blinked dazedly at him for a moment longer and broke into an apologetic, bashful smile. She stuck out a sheepish tongue.

"Ah…I did it again, didn't I? Sorry…" she blushed and shuffled in her pale pink dress. Naruto couldn't help colour up at the kunoichi's outfit. She too had seemed dressed up – without seeming too dressed up – for that day. Her headband was replaced with a plain, thin green hair band that went nicely with her eyes, and the knee-length dress that she wore flared prettily at her hips to flaunt her slim body. A simple pendant of a Sakura flower rested comfortably between her collars that opened to show just the correct amount of skin. She tugged her short, puffed sleeves and scuffed her dark boots as she fidgeted. "Um, am I too dressed up?"

Naruto managed to close his gaping mouth at the sweet-looking beauty before him before mumbling a soft, "You look great, Sakura-chan…"

The girl blushed deeper and smiled back. "You look good too…"

Both smiled bashfully at each other before lapsing into an easy silence as they waited for their last teammate to arrive. Feeling a need to break this silence, though, Naruto put out a question that he had been meaning to ask since the first time he had met Sasuke again. Rubbing the back of his neck nervously and out of habit, he cleared his throat. "Ah, S- Sakura-chan, what do you think of all these? I mean, uh, you know what I mean…"

Sakura glanced at the blonde and giggled. "You're _still_ unsure? Hasn't Sasuke-kun told you that he doesn't hate you; that he doesn't want _you _to hate him?"

Naruto went quiet as he thought of the past two days. They had caught up quite a lot, still had more to catch up on, and had gotten over at least the most awkward parts of their current friendship. That day, was a special day Tsunade had given them to show Sasuke around, which, in her own words, "To get the Uchiha reacquainted with Konoha again." – though the three nins of team seven could clearly tell that she was trying to be the _good Hokage_ to her people. Either way, it was a good time to get Sasuke out and about in the streets of his birth village again with a plausible reason. It was also a good time for the teens of team seven to get together again on a one day outing by themselves.

The Kyuubi container let a warm smile on his face as he thought of it. He pulled the smile into a wide grin as he turned to the pink-haired girl. "Just wanted to make sure, you know?"

The girl stuck out her tongue at him playfully. "Told you it'll be okay."

"Um…shouldn't have worried too much, eh?" Naruto rubbed his neck again and laughed quite sheepishly. He felt a little stupid then, for having been such a worry-wort in the first place, and to have made one of his bestest friend worried as well. "Sorry…for making you worried…"

"Nah…I would have been worried in the first place!" Sakura joked and returned his laugh. Her eyes suddenly twinkled in interest as she bent closer to him. "So… what did you think of him? What did you think of Sasuke-kun?"

The tall blonde turned a wistful smile to her. "He's still a teme…though I can't really he's quite so much of one now. He's a little mellower too, somehow…"

Sakura giggled again. "I agree. He does seem softer. And he's _so_ pretty! That first time I saw him again, I thought I was seeing some fairy! I bet he can easily win half the girls in Konoha hands down in the prettiness category!" – her eyes twinkled again in something akin to amusement as she glanced at her old teammate – "Don't you think so, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed lightly at Sakura's cheeky remark. He had to agree that the teme _had_ grown prettier – though Naruto would rather cut out his tongue than admit it aloud – and it scared him a little how someone – especially a _male_ – could look so beautiful. Not wanting to think about it, he smiled at the pink haired kunoichi and replied the remark as cheekily. "But Sakura-chan, I still think _no one_ – especially that teme – can win _you_ in prettiness."

The said girl blushed prettily at the comment and wondered idly why she was reacting in such a way when it was obviously a tease. She fumbled with the words in her mind and answered barely audibly with a meek, "Ah…th- thanks, Naruto…kun…"

Naruto blushed back at the special suffix added suddenly to his name. It was fortunate then that the last teen of the infamous team decided to arrive then to save the two from an awkward silence. Of course, being an Uchiha, and thus lacking the ability to feel any tense emotions if need be, Sasuke simply offered each teen a simple nod and "Good morning."

Out of habit, and the strong urge to break the quiet hanging over the trio like a veil, Naruto spun on his heels to point an accusing finger at the raven. "You're late!"

"Hm? Ah, I didn't check the time, sorry…and Kakashi—"

A giggle interrupted the two boys. They turned to the culprit, who happened to be one Haruno Sakura, in puzzlement as she now burst out laughing. Sasuke simply raised his thin eyebrows in question while Naruto scrunched up his blonde ones in a frown. "Ano sa, Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

The aforementioned kunoichi grinned at them. "Guys, doesn't the scene remind you of something?"

All the girl got was a pair of blank looks and she sighed. Oh, to have such clueless idiots for teammates…

"I sound like Kakashi," Sasuke suddenly stated blankly and covered his face with his hands. "Crap."

Naruto blinked in confusion for a while before bursting out in laughter as well. "Ah-hah! I thought you were Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's slow reaction and wondered how is it that Naruto could have survived as a ninja this far. "Both of you are so weird! Anyway Sasuke, you _do_ remind me of Kakashi-sensei a bit with that mask…though I can't really say the same for your clothes…" – Sakura giggled as she looked the raven up and down – "You look really hot in them!"

Naruto finally stopped laughing to look at his 'old' friend. "Yea, teme. What's with the get-up? You look like you want to go for a night-out or something."

Sasuke sighed at his friends' comments on his outfit. He thought it was overkill as well. For a simple day out with old friends, he didn't really need to wear such a dressy top, now, did he? Though dressy was not really how he would describe the strange clothes he was wearing over the netting underneath. It was made of some cotton-like black material that was not too hot to be in and had not that much decors on. It only had a lot of buckles and he was still annoyed at the time wasted in putting it on. Inwardly, he swore to kill whoever had hidden his plain garbs of comfort – he suspected it was Tsunade or Anko; they had commented quite dryly that he was wearing something akin to pajamas, after all – but was grateful enough that they hadn't given him anything too tight. He was sure that the intent had been there; it had been especially thick on the clothes that he was wearing.

"I had no choice, dobe. My usual clothes were missing and I can't possibly go out in my pajamas," Sasuke stated plainly, his tone almost bored. And even with the dark mask covering the lower half of his face, anyone could tell that he would look just as bored. His darker eyes gazed calmly at his two old teammates. His expression didn't change as he remarked casually, "Both of you dressed up."

The two chuunins before him blushed and looked down shyly. The blonde tugged at his messy hair and scuffed his sneakers against the wooden bridge. "Well, it's a special day…team seven's finally going to be going out together after three years apart…"

Sasuke glanced at his two closest friends – and dare he say it; _best_ friends – and rolled his eyes. As they looked up, his face rearranged itself into the blank and bored expression that he always wore. "Hn. Whatever. You're supposed to show me around today. Let's go."

"Ah, yes…wait, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called and grabbed the side of the raven's top that had a long sleeve, or actually a sleeve at all. She blushed a deeper red as he turned to look at her. "Ah, you- you look very nice, Sasuke-kun…"

The raven-haired teen seemed to be thinking for a moment before he answered the girl with a plain, "Hn."

Naruto, being Naruto, was ready to yell his head off to the _arrogant bastard_ but stopped short when said raven paused in his steps. Dark eyes glittered in amusement as they gazed calmly at the two chuunins. "Both of you look nice too."

There was abrupt silence at the comment – or a real praise, in Sasuke's case – but it was broken again when the masked raven turned on his heels with a simple, "Hn."

Giggling, Sakura ran up to the dark-haired teen. "Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto followed with a large grin on his face. He was going to enjoy his time with his old teammates – believe it! "Teme! Sakura-chan! Wait for me!"

NYAAAAH!+

They were attracting attention; or rather, the person being shown around the village was attracting attention. It was more than irritating for the said raven-haired stranger. He kicked at a lose pebble idly with his boot as his guides chatted amiably to him about the current affairs of the village. Not that he cared either way, but being the good guest that his long-gone mother brought him up to be, he nodded every once in a while to say that he was at least – partially – listening. Anytime soon, someone was sure to come up to him to ask who he might be.

He didn't even pause in his step when he sensed the 'someone' now coming up to him. Analyzing the chakra patterns, he sensed that it was a male. A boy who had just been conferred the title of jounin due to his high IQ and despite of his lazy constitute and running an special _favour_ for his platinum-haired teammate. Acting the part of a strange and mysterious ninja as Tsunade had told him to, he allowed the lazy nin to stroll up to him and raise his hand to tap his shoulder before vanishing.

And appearing right behind the slightly taller teen without a sound.

He scowled slightly behind his mask when he realized that he was indeed shorter. Damn it. Still, he played his part and whispered teasingly into the shocked nin's ear. "Ah, Nara Shikamaru. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The young jounin barely suppressed a yelp of surprise. He spun around to glare warily at the raven stranger. Dark eyes, laced with something that looked suspiciously like a fiery gold, seemed to look deep into his soul. It made something stir deep in the Nara and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. _Master…_

"Oi, Shikamaru, what the hell are you doing?" Naruto's obnoxiousness managed to pull him out of his stupor. He found the stranger – who was frighteningly familiar to him – looking at him with only interest swimming languidly in his eyes now. He wondered what the voice in his head had meant. Perhaps he was too tired?

"Huh? Naruto, what are you doing here?" he finally managed to gain control of his tongue again to ask. His dark brown eyes flitted over to the stranger who was now simply looking at the blonde in boredom. It was as though the unexplainable aura that had surrounded the raven had never existed. It was baffling. Shikamaru looked decided to turn away from the slender person for a while. He needed answers first; then he was going to think. "Who's the stranger?"

Sakura now came up to them, looking slightly flustered. Shikamaru noticed idly that they were dressed in their casual best, as though they were representing Konoha for a guest and were guides – Shikamaru didn't even need to think to know who the guest might be – or going out with a long lost friend and thus dressing up because it was a special day to them. He didn't know how right he was in his latter deduction.

"I'm Tsunade's boyfriend," the stranger quipped in suddenly. Utter shock and disbelief returned the light quip. Sakura's face was as pink, if not more, as her hair. Naruto had lost all the little marbles that he had somehow and was only left with the ability to look like a goldfish. Shikamaru had gone pale and his face had forgotten how to look the least bit lazy. It was looking simply as though the jounin had seen a ghost and it amused the stranger. So he laughed.

"I was kidding!" he joked and smiled – as much as he can with the mask on, anyway – at the nins. Unbeknownst to the poor shinobi, the stranger's eyes still twinkled in mischief. Oh, he had much more up his sleeve. Tsunade had given him permission to lie to them and he would have as much fun doing it. So he told them, "I'm not her boyfriend. I wouldn't want an old girl like her. I'm just her illegitimate child."

The sigh of relief that was passing through the shinobi's lips paused mid-way to get sucked back in a gasp.

"You- You're what?!" came Shikamaru's horrified exclamation. He was horrified – yes, you heard it right, _horrified_ – to find his Hokage – the _Hokage_, for goodness' sake! – having an illegitimate child! It was unheard of! It was criminal! He grabbed the stranger's slim shoulders and shook the teen – yes, he'd known the stranger was a teen – hard. "Are you sure? Are you _absolutely_ certain about this?! If this is true, then- then—!"

The young stranger looked at the jounin in worry. Perhaps he had gone to far to push even Nara Shikamaru to the edge of insanity? He looked to his friends, worrying about _their_ sanity. He sighed in relief when he saw that they were just looking white and stony. They had just entered the _edge_ of the edge of insanity. They were still safe. He turned to the – almost frothing – jounin again. He smiled, as much as he can, at the distraught teen. "I'm sorry to say—"

Shikamaru's crazed eyes held a little hope and that small shred of sanity there as he glared at the stranger. The raven shivered slightly. "I'm sorry to say that I was joking again. I am not her illegitimate child and neither am I her boyfriend."

Shikamaru now sighed. The stranger had tricked him – again. But those lies had been too possible!

"I'm just her personal gigolo."

Shikamaru fainted.

-

"Damn teme! Did you _have_ to make Shikamaru – of all people, _Shikamaru_! – faint?!" Naruto was yelling to his best friend. The Uchiha regarded the blonde in nothing more than calm amusement.

"I was just acting my part as per the Hokage-sama's order," he stated robotically and his eyes grew even more amused when Naruto exploded again.

"What?! You mean it was the old hag's order to say that you were her gigolo?!"

Sasuke begged to differ about the statement. "No, dobe, I'm not her gigolo, I'm her _personal_ gigolo."

Naruto decided at that point of time to splutter like the goldfish he really was. He couldn't believe his ears. Did the teme – the _teme_ – just look happy that he was the _personal_ gigolo to the Hokage? Did he even heard correctly thus far that the teme had _joked_ and **_laughed_**? He was about to protest again when Sakura finally came out the hospital and knocked him soundly on his head.

"Shut it, Naruto! I could hear you screaming from inside!" she scolded. The blonde chuunin pouted as he rubbed his head. His blue eyes looked at the kunoichi imploringly.

"Mou, Sakura-chan, I didn't scream! I yelled!" he whined only to get another knuckle on his head. He winced at the added earful and complained about how Sasuke wasn't getting any. Much to the raven's chagrin, the pinky now turned to him and began scolding _him_. He sighed, contrite that he had done such a thing to deserve Sakura's scolding.

"Sorry, I won't do it again," he mumbled, very much apologetic, and it surprised his two ex-teammates. Ignoring their surprise, he sighed for the fourth time that day and spun on his heels. "Let's go already."

And once again, the two chuunins had to run to catch up to their 'guest'.

The trio was now sitting peacefully under the clear sky in the park. They were sitting a little ways off from the general public so had no worries about being mauled by them for answers. It became apparent that there were rumors of the Hokage having an affair with her illegitimate child and was keeping him as her own _personal_ gigolo and that the said rumored person was absolutely good-looking. Somehow, there were even weird rumors of the illegitimate child being a young woman and that the Hokage was attracted to women. Of course, it was easily cleared by an angry and barely suppressed said Hokage. She had only been sated after mauling an unfortunate young man who happened to have spiky dark hair and pale skin. But that was to be told as another story.

Back to our three young heroes, pikachu—

Ack, scratch that.

Uh, the three young shinobi of team seven now sat on the green grass, eating the packed food that they had bought. They were enjoying the silence that they were having then. It was quite the rare thing to be enjoying _any_ silence during that time and especially when they were together. It was another thing to celebrate on. Thus Naruto got up and decided to get his friends a drink, leaving the Sakura to sit quite comfortably, for the first time since she met him, with Sasuke and without any strange urges to maul the poor boy and take him then and there.

"It's peaceful, ne, Sasuke-kun?" she began the important conversation of this chapter. The raven glanced at her with the same calmness he seemed to exude since his return and nodded. "Aa."

"Um, Sasuke-kun, what…" Sakura faltered a little in her question, "What do you think of me?"

There was hope and a little despair in her voice at what the young Uchiha might answer. But Sasuke didn't answer the kunoichi straight away. Instead he told her, so gently that it made Sakura just sit and stare dumbfounded at him, "Sakura, you should stop chasing after me. Haven't I told you that it was enough? I'm sorry, but I can't have any feelings for you. You have become too much of a sister to me. I'm sure you can feel it deep in your heart as well."

The pink-haired girl continued to stare at Sasuke as the words were processed. She finally turned her head down, a rueful smile on her face. "Yes, I knew. And now that you've told me, it's been confirmed. I really don't have any feelings for you. The care that I have are just ones that are for a sister to her brother. Thank you, anyway, for making it clear to me."

She would have started bawling had a pair of strong, slender arms, one sleeved and the other merely gloved and bandaged to the elbow, wrapped themselves around her. She looked up, the threateningly heavy tears wanting to break away from its dam, to the dark eyes of the one person she would never expect to do any such thing. "Sasuke…?" _He has such kind eyes…_

"Don't cry, hey? I hate it when girls cry. That's why I never date them until I was certain they were for me. I would just hate to break up with them and make them cry before me," he remarked lightly as he wiped a stray tear running down her cheek. He winked at her as she went on, "You know Naruto has been pining for you…why don't you give the guy a chance? He's really a sweetheart under all that tough guy façade."

Sakura smiled up at her friend and returned the hug. "Thanks, Sasuke. I think I'll consider him…"

"Well, I'd better go check up on that dobe now, in case he gets lost," he said cheekily and disentangled himself from her. Sakura smiled and waved him away, the tears now forgotten. In a matter of minutes, Sasuke had made her accept that she was no longer the twelve-year-old with a silly crush. She was becoming a young woman. _Thank you, Sasuke._

Naruto was wondering what type of drink the teme liked. Did he still have the same tastes as when they were still twelve? Naruto didn't know what to think. Thus, he got him a bottle of plain, mineral water. Anyone can drink mineral water, right? Besides, the drinks were just for them to wash the food they had been eating down their throat.

"What's taking you so long, dobe?" a sudden voice called out from behind him. Naruto struggled not to jump three feet in the air but failed. As a defense mechanism to his failure, he pointed an accusing finger at the person.

"T- Teme! Don't do that! Besides, you're wearing big, thick, _heavy_ boots! You're supposed to make _a lot_ of noise just walking!" he babbled, flushing in embarrassment. Sasuke only looked at his friend and it made Naruto shiver to look at the shadowed face and glinting eyes of the other teen. He gulped at the dangerous aura that seemed to be emanating from him suddenly. What the hell was going on? He felt Kyuubi growl deep in his mind and wondered what had suddenly possessed the Uchiha to have the Kyuubi act like it. He gulped again. "O- Oi, teme, what's wrong with you?"

But Sasuke wasn't there anymore.

"Too slow, dobe."

Naruto spun around to see nothing. His heart was thudding hard in his chest. What was going on?

"You disappoint me, Kyuubi warrior. I expected more of you."

Naruto spun back to Sasuke's face looking up and so close to his own that it made him blush. He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, Sasuke, what are you on about? A- And Kyuubi…warrior?"

"Hn. Seems to me that the only thing that's grown is your body. Your brain still seems to be a child's," Sasuke whispered mockingly and smiled when Naruto's brows drew together into a frown.

"What did you say, teme?" the blonde growled dangerously and bent even lower towards the pale face, the blushing closeness between them forgotten. Sasuke smirked – and even if Naruto couldn't see it beneath the mask, the raven's eyes plainly showed it. The raven raised his head higher to meet the blue eyes levelly. "Didn't you hear what I said, dobe? You are _childish_."

That was the last straw for Naruto. He practically roared, waving his fist strong and angrily towards the amused Uchiha standing just before him. "I am not _childish_! Did you hear me, Uchiha?! I am so, bloody hell _not_ fucking _childish_!"

"Hn, then why are you getting so riled up over something so trivial, then?"

Naruto was really hating the eye-smirking thing. It was even more irritating than the teme's usual smirk. It somehow irked him more than usual – and the Kyuubi seemed affected as well; not that he was paying attention, of course. He growled and narrowed his eyes. He felt ready to tear the bastard to shreds.

"What, no clever comeback? Hn, if you're so _sure_ you're not _childish_," – Naruto seethed at his friend's purpose drawl of the word – "prove it to me."

Naruto raised one tawny eyebrow at the smirking teen. Despite knowing that there may be consequences, he raised to the bait. "What do you want me to do?"

Sakura watched the friendly squabble happening just a hundred feet from where she was sitting. The two boys reminded her of her two teammates and the girl trying to break the fight up reminded her of herself. She giggled. It reminded her of the good old times; when everything was so simple and laid out for them.

"Uh, hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto finally came with the drinks. Sakura raised a slender eyebrow at him.

"What took you so long? Sasuke-kun went to look for you. Did you see him?" her question was answered by a blush. She wondered what had happened to make the blonde so. Perhaps he had seen something strange?

"Eh, no…I uh, don't think so…well, I guess he'll return soon. Um, I'm sure he's…_around_…"

Sakura shrugged at the blonde's strange attitude. He was always one for surprises anyway. She thanked him for her drink and the both of them sat quietly for a while.

"A- Ano sa, Sakura-chan," Naruto started nervously, "wh- why do you like uh, orange juice?"

Sakura blinked. What was with the unexpected question? Nonetheless, she answered him with a shrug. "I like the taste, I guess. We don't really need a reason to like a drink, ne?"

Naruto only nodded dumbly. Inside, he was cursing himself for his cowardice. Then he cursed Sasuke for forcing him to carry out the stupid proof-thing, and then cursed himself again for accepting it and promising that he would carry it out perfectly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Hm? Did you say something, Naruto?" Sakura asked him with slight concern when he threatened to knock his head to the ground. Smiling weakly, the teen shook his head. "Eh, no…"

Naruto decided to try again. "Um, Sakura-chan, what…what colour do you like?"

As Naruto did the curse cycle again, Sakura answered, an amused look on her face, "I like pink. Though nowadays, I'm preferring to add more white and a little black to it…"

She giggled when she saw the troubled and blushing face of her blonde teammate. "What's wrong, Naruto? And don't lie to me. I know that you want to tell me something."

"Ah, well, I just- uh, I just want to ask you if…" Naruto gulped and took a deep calming breath. He turned his sky blue eyes to the kunoichi. "Sakura…will you go out with me?"

Sakura's eyes widened at the blueness that she found herself falling into. Why was she feeling that way? Why was her heart beating so fast and her face feeling as though all the blood in her body had been pumped there? She looked down and away from those burning blue orbs, feeling shy all of a sudden. Her instinct would be to say no straightaway but now that she thought about it, and what Sasuke had told her, Naruto really wasn't so bad. He was tall, muscular and even – she now realized – very handsome. How had she overlooked all these before? How had _all_ the girls – not including Hinata, perhaps – overlooked these before? She felt bad about taking Hinata's first love but then remembered that the Hyuuga heiress was already going out with Kiba.

"I think…" Naruto readied himself for the rejection he was sure to receive, "I'll accept, Naruto. I- I need a change for once, and you're the perfect person to provide me with it…"

"What?" the blonde teen could barely believe his ears. Sakura had accepted his date? Sakura had accepted _him_? He couldn't believe his ears. "Did I- Did you—"

"Don't make me repeat it, Uzumaki!" Sakura growled, then blushed. "I…I think I may like you too…"

And without knowing it, their hands had crept towards each other and were interlinked.

"Mission complete. Now give me my clothes back," a bored voice drawled from the shadows just by the Hokage's desk. The busty woman sitting behind it scowled darkly at the shadows. The sake cup in her hand was already gone by the end of the sentence. It lay awkwardly beside a pair of booted feet now. The voice drawled again, "That hurt, you know."

"Well, that was only part of the many hurts I'm going to put you through for causing such a ruckus about me today!" the busty woman scowled deeper as the person in the shadows stepped forward silently even with the heavy boots. A smirk could clearly be seen despite the mask covering half his face.

"But Hokage-sama, you told me to lie about myself," he interjected casually and mock bowed to the woman. "At least, you got your _special show_."

At this, the Hokage smiled. "Yes, I did, didn't I? And no, Uchiha Sasuke, as punishment, you are only to wear the clothes that I provide."

Sasuke sighed. "Crap."

END BLEARGH 

**:watcheva:**


	7. Jam Enam

**This chapter is dedicated to HelloHelloHello, one of my very first reviewers! Uh, I'm sorry I'm didn't mention you…I guess I kinda forgot? Please don't kill me! **

**And I would also like to dedicate this story to Priestess Kurumi's sister…I love her! She's my most loyal reviewer! I'll give her a few strands of Sasuke's precious hair (you can't get it from him anymore. Heard he's almost bald with all the fangirls taking his hair.) And also to another loyal reviewer XxHunter The One and OnlyxX! An- And AngelSachiya! Mou…why do all of you have such cool long names? Mine is so silly and simple and—**

**Guh, I'm being depressing. To anyone that I missed, thank you for reviewing! To those of you none reviewers, thank you as well! I'm not complaining about you not reviewing…as long as you're reading my story! (smiles) You all get s'more strands of Sasuke's hair! (Yes, you can tell, can't you? The one that made sasuke bald was me! Wahahahahah!!! But then again, the one that ran in fear and _made_ me pull his hair was sasuke himself…)**

**Now, even if any of you dislike him, it's okay. Keep it. It'll cost a lot if you sell it to a random Sasuke fangirl (or guy. Doesn't matter to me.) Now, if only I can get some of Naruto's…oh, _oh_! And Kyuubi's! I heard it'd mauled the last fan that tried to pluck its fur. **

**Yeah.**

**Disclaimers apply.**

**Please read. Dozo.**

CHAPTER 7

Night.

A time for sleep. A time for rest.

A time when darkness licks its lips in childish delight.

Hidden amidst the pooling shadows, pale blue lips curved in a sinister smile.

"_Ah, dear Uchiha Sasuke, my celestial brother Suzaku, your time has come…_"

The sun shone cheerily down at the busy village. The only clouds seen in the clear blue sky were small, cute puffy cotton fluffs that you would only expect in an imaginary painting of an oh-so-perfect day. One would think that something good would happen on that very day. And Naruto could feel the warmth from it as he walked down the streets with a large grin on his face.

He was finally with his crush, the girl of his dreams! It was really a wonder to him that his face hadn't just split into two. He spotted the pink-haired girl a little whiles away and waved enthusiastically to her. "Sakura-chan!"

The girl blushed prettily at him and waved back almost shyly. A would-be lusty platinum blonde looked on in amusement at her friends' antics. Her eyes told Naruto clearly that she knew their _new_ relationship and approved. A cheeky, white-toothed smile greeted the other more boisterous male blonde. "Hello, Naruto-_kun_."

The two chuunins of team seven blushed fiercely at the tease. The platinum-haired kunoichi laughed. She loved the situation then. She was always one for a good teasing and the current new couple was perfect! Though teasing Hinata and Kiba would have to be their runner up…

"I see what I'd heard from your faithful _admirers_ that it's true then. Both of you are going out?" a bored and overall lazy voice drawled. Naruto rubbed his head bashfully at the young jounin walking up from behind the two girls. He barely let out an inaudible mumble of agreement as he nodded. He scooted towards his Sakura-chan – _his_ Sakura-chan! – and instantly, though with that bit of shy hesitance, their fingers searched for the other and intertwined. Ino's squeal of delight almost made the new couple release their hold on each other.

"Both of you are so cute!!!" the kunoichi squealed and pounced on the two flushing chuunins.

"Oh, stop it, Ino, you're making it seem as though they're newly weds, or something…" another familiar voice interrupted the girl's fussing. Pale blue orbs turned to the newcomer. The potential glare turned back into one of delight again when she saw who it was.

"Kiba-_kun_! Hinata-_chan_!" she called cheekily, much to the chagrin of the Inuzuka.

"Stop saying our names like that, Ino! It's giving me the bloody chills!" the teen yelled as the pale-eyed Hyuuga he was holding blushed ripe tomato red. The icy glare directed his way from the other Hyuuga walking with him silenced the loud dog-boy. It was quite obvious that Neji was more than protective about his cousin now that Hinata was taken and he wasn't too happy that it was Kiba – though any other boy _not_ one of the rookie nine would be disliked and placed in a higher and more precarious position than what Kiba was in.

"Please refrain from using such words while in the presence of my cousin. It is not gentlemanly," the cool voice of the older Hyuuga was laced with slight venom and Kiba shivered under the scrutinizing glare.

"H- Hai. Gomen…"

"Ahaha…Neji, perhaps you should be more lenient towards them…they're already _sixteen_, you know…" Tenten tried to soothe Neji's flaring over protectiveness. She was growing very close to the Hyuuga and was almost a girlfriend to the teen. All it needed was a little push—

"Being sixteen does _not_ give them the right to be so casual while—" Neji was cut short in his rant by a hard, friendly pat on his back. He spun around to glare murderously at the one an only teammate of his, Rock Lee. The green spandex-clad, bowl-haired boy grinned brightly and did his best Gai pose.

"It is fine, my dear, worthy teammate! It is clear you have the youthful vigour of jealousy burning in your blood! I can fully understand that fire of youthfulness as a youth myself!" Lee exclaimed in all enthusiasm and his eyes not so subtly turned to the new couple blushing at the corner. All and any proper thoughts in his mind were thrown to the wind as he turned to point an angry finger towards the unfortunate male of the pair. "Narut—"

"Did you just say I am jealous?!" Neji's face was red with anger – and some bit of embarrassment – as he hit Lee soundly back on his head. The dark-haired chuunin turned to his teammate in shock. Never had Neji retaliated with such vigour. It made him proud that he had made Hyuuga Neji – _the_ Hyuuga Neji – react in such a way. It was an achievement of all achievements! It also meant that Neji was indeed _very_ jealous; and that Lee would die very soon.

"Oh, that's enough, you guys!" came Ino's chiding voice. The rest of the chuunins were instantly quiet. Each was looking to Naruto and Sakura expectantly. They were called there for a reason, after all. This they were sure off; Naruto and Sakura would not have called them suddenly on such a fine day for dating to take place. "Well, c'mon then, Naruto. You've called all of us here this afternoon. What do you want to tell us?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously with his free hand. He smiled gratefully at Sakura as she squeezed his hand in support. He wasted no time in getting the news across. He braced himself for the barrage of questions as he breathed, "Uchiha Sasuke's back."

Sure enough, a number of loud 'What?!'s came his way.

Tsunade turned idly in her chair. It was a fair enough day. She wondered if her two most favourite chuunins were on a date right now. Or perhaps—

"Did you tell them to break the news of your return to the other rookies?" she asked without turning in her chair. By rookies, she of course meant the rookie nine and team Gai – it had become some sort of fond nickname for them by the years. The quiet sound of agreement that reached her ears made her sigh in a bit of worry.

"May the Kages bless them both."

It was quiet. Too quiet.

"A- Ano—"

Paler blue eyes looked up sharply to the brighter blue. It made Naruto pause in his speech. He gulped as the girl still stared icily at him. Beside him, Sakura moved unconsciously closer to him.

"Is this all true?" a smooth voice cut the tension in the air. The chuunins sitting thoughtfully in the training grounds looked up to the only jounin there. They hadn't expected him of all people to speak. Dark eyes that looked sharply at the blonde belied the lazy expression of his body. "Tell me, Naruto, is this all true?"

Naruto nodded. Then he snickered. "The new guy that made you faint; that was him."

Ino goggled. "_What_? You mean to say that the _hot_, illegitimate child and _personal_ gigolo of the Hokage-sama was _Sasuke-kun_?!"

Naruto's grin grew infinitely bolder. He nodded. Sakura giggled beside him. Her green eyes twinkled in mischief at the groaning Shikamaru. "You know, Shikamaru, I never expected you to be the fainting type."

Relieved laughter gladly rolled out each of the nins to finally break the quiet.

"It hurts. It so totally hurts. Shit, it hurts like hell…"

Sasuke groaned from the chair in Tsunade's office. The said owner of the messy room could only looked on in a little pity and concern as the teen groaned. She frowned as he glared at her. Crossing her arms, she defended easily, "It wasn't _my_ fault that _you_ wanted to arm-wrestle!"

Tsunade almost melted – _almost_, mind you, because she was too much of a (ahem) _Hokage_ – at Sasuke pout. She had never seen Sasuke pout and wondered why the teen didn't just use it to defeat his brother; it would definitely melt the man's steely heart, if he had one in the first place, that is. She would pray for whomever had seen it because _hell_ did the boy own an adorable pout! It could be said to be his secret weapon!

"_Yes_! I told you to arm-_wrestle_! Not arm-_breaking_!" Sasuke's accusing voice broke out her thoughts and made her break from it. She growled.

"You know about my 'inhuman' super strength! Why did you play with me in the first place, then?"

Tsunade's only reply from the boy was a pained, "I was bored!"

Tsunade still growled. "Whatever. You shouldn't be bored in the first place! You were _supposed_ to tell me something?"

It was uncanny to the blonde woman how Sasuke or, it seemed to her, any of the team seven's members could switch their moods so easily. Just look at Sakura! Tsunade felt the need to switch into her Hokage mode. Her crossed arms were lifted from her large bosoms to retake their place under her chin in its familiar link. Her golden-brown eyes watched the young Uchiha sitting across her. She repeated her question. "You wanted to tell me something?"

"Yes, I did. It concerns the future of the shinobi villages—"

"Then why did you want to do arm-wrestling instead of telling me this?!" Tsunade's annoyed shriek interrupted Sasuke's speech. He flinched.

"I told you I was bored—"

"Just get on with it."

"Uh, yeah…" – Sasuke sat straighter in his chair again – "As I was saying, it concerns the future of the shinobi villages. And especially mine."

Tsunade started. Sasuke's fate? How could it have something to do with his fate? Unless the Suzaku—

"I'm getting married."

**END**

Wait. That was completely random. What I meant to type was—

"Yes, I did. It concerns the future of the shinobi villages—"

"Then why did you want to do arm-wrestling instead of telling me this?!" Tsunade's annoyed shriek interrupted Sasuke's speech. He flinched.

"I told you I was bored—"

"Just get on with it."

"Uh, yeah…" – Sasuke sat straighter in his chair again – "As I was saying, it concerns the future of the shinobi villages. You may very well know that Konoha is the last, _strongest_ Hidden Village standing. Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are sure to know this small fact. They know that if we are attacked, we would be defenseless against another, even less severe, one. They know that we can't call for reinforcements anymore. The other villages are too small and too lacking in skills to help us."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I've thought about it. There is a lull of a misleading peace now because both sides are waiting for the other to attack first. They want to be the one to claim the victory to our village's fall in the end. Though I don't doubt that the Akatsuki would attack first. They seem keener on getting the Kyuubi than the village's honour. Then again, Orochimaru still wants your body…"

"He doesn't know that I'm here, remember?" – a shadow of doubt crossed Sasuke's face – "I just hope that they don't form a truce anytime soon. It may not be possible considering Orochimaru's…_history_, but it is still a possibility; no matter how small it is."

"Then…as Suzaku, I'm sure you have a solution to this? If we had another equally strong village to fall back upon, we wouldn't really have a problem – unless you are thinking of asking the smaller villages to band together? Even then, it won't be enough…" Tsunade began to fret. She really didn't like how the discussion was turning out. It revealed more problems and she was certain that it would end with quite a headache for her. Her distress was forgotten at the silken voice coming from the raven before her. She looked up to see the red orbs of the Phoenix.

"Do not worry so, young Hokage. Yes, I agree with you in a part. We will ask for the other villages to band. And we will also ask help from _them_. **_Akihara_**…"

Tsunade's eyes threatened to pop from her sockets.

Quite a ways off from the peace of the village, a pair of dark cloaked figures stood amongst the fallen and bloodied bodies of the dozen of unfortunate hunter nins. The still-warm crimson life of the nins splattered on their cloaks looked almost like the red-clouds decorating the dark background. On them, the blood looked like decorations. Equally blood-red eyes turned to the other man. A stray wind picked up his long bangs in its path. The significant three tomoe spun in lazy circles. Heavy dark lashes lifted to look at the darkening sky.

"We're going to be late," the shorter man said and turned from his partner. The taller rolled his eyes and slung his large sword onto his back again. His strange, shark-like yellow eyes never left the other's back as he snickered, "That's pretty obvious, you know, Itachi?"

The shorter man didn't reply. It wasn't expected, anyway. But his partner's menacing smile didn't waver. It grew wider. He licked stranger blue lips, sharp teeth glinting in the sinking sun's rays. "We're getting closer to _him_…"

Tsunade watched in curiosity as Sasuke stood up from his chair. The fiery eyes made her shiver. It seemed so old with so much experience; it looked strange on the teen.

"I will call my two generals."

Neji looked up suddenly from his thoughts. He could hear it again. Before it always sounded in his dreams. It had creeped him at first, but later, he had only accepted it as fate. He was obviously to be involved in something big that he would not understand – or soon would, if all that he thought about fate was going to come true. He closed his pale lavender eyes. The sound was sweet, like a forgotten bird song twinkling in the breeze. _Come to me…_

Something roared to be released in him. He complied hesitantly, then letting go fully at the wonderful rush of cool leaves brushing against his very soul. The strange light around him now begged to fill him and he let them do so as well. He opened his eyes and suddenly, he felt so full and content with life. He was calm and his troubles seemed trivial compared to the troubles of others. (1)

"Ne- Neji-niisan! What h- happened to your e- eyes?! A- And the strange chakra…" Hinata's shocked stutter made him turn his head. His cousin seemed such an angel. A white light glowed around her. Her virtue was strong. But it came more so from—

Neji squinted as Lee rounded on him. The teen's virtue was even more striking. It blinded him. He shuddered to think of Gai's light. He felt a familiar presence amidst the shocked nins. _I know him…_

"It's been too long, old friend."

The other teen turned wise sea-blue eyes to him. The small, familiar smile graced the teen's face. A nod of acknowledgement was returned. "You, too."

Sasuke's eyes glowed a darker and eerie red. The smile on his face made him seem even more mystical. Tsunade barely hid her gasp as the floor of her office lit up in a shimmering light that didn't seem to hurt her eyes. Her mind raced. What was this?!

"Hear me, my loyal friends."

Ino was more than surprised at the sudden change that overcame her teammate. No, it wasn't Chouji – the teen was gaping like her – it was surprisingly Shikamaru. The teen suddenly grew even more calm than how he usually was and in the blink of an eye, he seemed to grow wiser – no, not cleverer, but _wiser_. (2) It shocked Ino. Hell, it scared her.

And when he opened he turned to her call—

Ino had promptly fainted. And her friends had looked on in bewildered confusion as two of their group apparently seemed to change in essence in a millisecond. It was even more bewildering for them when they looked in unison to the Hokage tower. A grim smile came upon their faces as they did so.

"He calls," Neji said quietly and turned his translucent green eyes to the younger nin. Shikamaru nodded.

"The time has come," he replied as quietly. The small group gasped when Neji was suddenly swallowed by the earth and vanished. Their eyes traveled to Shikamaru. He turned his own entrancing eyes to them. "Please prepare yourselves. Danger is sure to come."

He then proceeded to disappear the same way as Neji did. Only he vanished from a pour of water that appeared out of nowhere from the sky.

It was really quite fortunate that they were in a rarely passed alley.

Cold eyes glinted sharply and turned to the nearing village. "_They awaken_."

Sasuke stood tall and proud despite his height as a mound of earth appeared in the middle of the office to grow into the shape of a young man. It fell away to reveal long brown hair and strange translucent eyes that hypnotized you without even trying. Tsunade gaped in her shock. _Hyuuga Neji?!_

A splash of water distracted her. She blinked at the puddle of water that grew, just as the mound of earth did, into the shape of a human. The spiky hair on its head alerted her. _Nara Shikamaru, now?!_

"Yes, dear Hokage. Meet my two generals," Sasuke seemed to smirk _kindly_ at her – if it was possible – "Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru; also known as Byakku and Genbu."

For the second time since the story began, Tsunade fainted from the overdrive. She was still an old woman after all, it seemed.

**END**

**:watcheva:**

(1) Byakku is supposed to be virtuous and justified and such…I was tempted to use Lee but I can't possibly think of him as a cool _tiger_…though I've got to say that the green spandex matches the stripes. (smiles)

(2) Genbu is wise…Shikamaru's smart…I like him…so yeah…

**I'm sorry if the last chapter and this chapter seem to be a little random! Though I have to say that the previous chapter was really random as well…**

**I have no idea why but nowadays I'm just becoming strangely random…so if the story is weird, that means I'm weird…Please forgive my child…(Psst, story, apologize!)**

**Story: I'm sorry.**

**See? It apologized. It's a good story, isn't it? aw, c'mere you obedient little thing!**

**Right…**

**I'll stop.**

**BLEARGH.**


	8. Jam Tujuh

**Gah! Lines do not work! Bad lines! Fot the previous chapter, I mean...**

**Ah, gomen about the sudden randomness of my part for the last chappie…(giggles maniacally) but I was in that kind of mood then. Dunno why. It totally spoils it somehow…(still giggling, then blows head up from it)**

'**Niway, thanks for your reviews again! Uh, this chapter is basically like the calm before the storm? It's kinda boring but stuffed with info…**

**Well, sorta. Hm, just read.**

**I mean, please.**

**Dozo.**

-**_line_**-

CHAPTER 8

The villagers of Konoha were ablaze with rumors and strange sightings. They had just seen – and heard some incoherent screaming from them too – the group of infamous chuunin 'rookies' barreling through the streets at a high speed. They were said to be heading towards the Hokage tower. The reason was yet unknown.

Shizune was even aware of their looming presence as she proceeded with her paperwork as the Hokage's secretary. Thinking quickly, and not wanting anymore costly damaged products of the tower hanging from her neck; she swung open the door to the Hokage's office. She wasn't really caring about her Tsunade-hime's secrets right now; and the Uchiha could take it somewhere else for once. It was going to be broken to the chuunin 'rookies' sooner or later anyway, so taking it forward a bit should not make a difference.

"Your _guests_ Tsunade-sama," she announced to the calm interior and stepped aside neatly in time to allow the barreling teens past her. She allowed a small smile to leave her lips when she noticed Sasuke pull the ANBU mask over his face and step back by the – apparently fainted – Hokage on the floor. It was quite impressive how the teen could do it in a single fluid movement. It was as though he had had a lot of practise.

Wait. He _had_ had a lot of practise. Shizune snickered before closing the door behind the bewildered chuunins. She bowed slightly to the two generals – really, she would never have thought of Shikamaru and _Neji_ – and let the ominous bang of the heavy doors resound around her.

-**_line_**-

"Eh?? Neji— Shikamaru! You're here?! But why– How—?" Naruto spluttered uselessly as the two said teens stared back eerily. Their strange eyes seemed to swim with a deep knowledge of something too old and dark for them to know. It freaked Naruto and even Kyuubi out. In fact, Kyuubi was growling non-stop about them.

They return! It does not bid well! It does not bid well at all… 

Naruto wasn't going to ask what was so grim yet. There were too many questions rushing around his head like a loose bullet train. It was tearing his thoughts up into mindless strands. It was confusing him! And that was currently the reason his mouth was on a rant then. His brain just didn't seem to be functioning properly.

"Where's Hokage-sama?" Ino – newly revived from her short fainting spree a while before (please read previous chappie) – demanded steely. Her voice trembled slightly from a certain fear of the mystical aura that seemed to exude from her teammate and the cold Hyuuga. It seemed as though she didn't know the two teens anymore. They didn't answer her. They didn't even turned her way. Although she was miffed by it, her shock overwhelmed that feeling when they bowed to Naruto.

"We welcome you again, Kyuubi-warrior," Neji spoke for Shikamaru as well and locked eyes with the shocked blonde. Sakura tugged at Naruto's hand. The unasked question in her eyes was clear in everyone's minds. _Why are you called the Kyuubi-warrior, Naruto?_

Naruto's mind was swimming with another set of thoughts. He remembered being called that just yesterday, when he had gone out with Sasuke and Sakura – and when he was in the small argument with Sasuke—

He was with Sasuke! But did that also mean that the raven was going to be as strange as the two teens before him? He seemed normal enough, albeit definitely more open compared to the past…

"Your Hokage fainted," a cool voice broke through the confused silence that gripped the room. The teens –with the exception of Neji and Shikamaru – started at the voice that was heard out of nowhere. Sasuke crossed his arms as they looked at his shadowed form. He pouted beneath his ANBU mask. _I've been standing here for so long and only _now_ you notice me? Pssht…_

"Where did you come from?" was Naruto's obvious question. Sasuke took his time rolling his eyes. It was hidden behind a mask, after all. And he wasn't going to bother answer the painfully stupid question worthy of Naruto. Instead he kept silent. Of course, the blonde had to mumble about egoistic bastard ANBUs later, but that was beside the point. He didn't bother answering any other questions thrown at him either. They were too bothersome.

Chuunins were just so bothersome.

-**_line_**-

Tsunade awoke to a faint slapping on her face. She opened her brown eyes to see the two medic-nins of the 'rookies'. Worry and sincere concern were plastered on their faces. She couldn't help but flash a smile at the two girls. Her head throbbed. That meant that she had hit the floor because- because—

She growled suddenly. Then she surprised the two medics by jumping from her position on the floor. Her finger pointed to the silent ANBU leaning casually against her desk.

"You! Y- You—!" her hanging accusation of 'You didn't catch me!' and 'You scared me on purpose!' wasn't allowed to leave her tongue. It was too degrading for a _Hokage_ like her. To her utmost annoyance, the ANBU knew what she had wanted to say and even smirked – _smirked_! She bared her teeth at him. It wasn't fair! He could read her thoughts! As though to confirm it, his cool voice whispered into her mind, _Yes I can…_

Tsunade bristled. "Ooh, why you little—"

"You almost broke my arm," was the smooth interruption. Tsunade's eye twitched in that threatening way that meant she was about ready to smash an unfortunate piece of matter. She narrowed her eyes instead and turned to the unfortunate mortals that she _could_ vent her anger on. They shuddered under her glare. Ooh, it felt really good to be a Hokage. It made her wonder at times why she had chosen to run away from it previously. "What are you all doing here?"

"Uh, we're just wondering about Neji and Shikamaru…uh," Ino paused as she glanced at Tsunade cool stare. She had never quite thought of how intimidating the Hokage's glare really was. "Um, they vanished suddenly, you see…we thought it was something that we should report?"

Yes, she ended in a question because she couldn't really make up her mind whether she should have reported it in the first place. The 'ever-talkative' Neji thankfully spared her further awkward silence on the Hokage's part.

"We apologize if we had shocked you of our sudden leave. We had been unexpectedly summoned," was his quiet explanation. The chuunins took this in thoughtfully. Neji hadn't specified who had summoned him and Shikamaru – and this meant that whoever had called for them actually played a large part in the whole thing. All that was left was to figure out who it was…Ino was cut short from her thoughts by Neji. "For now, we have to leave you with your own thoughts. Your doubts will be cleared soon. Now, if you please Hokage-sama."

Tsunade started at Neji's sudden reference to her. Was she supposed to say something now? Because she had no idea what to say. The familiar cool voice whispered into her mind. _Do you mind being my mediator for now, Tsunade? 'Cause I can't keep up my cover and tell them the plan at the same time…_

Tsunade smiled slightly and straightened her shoulders. _Shoot away._

"As you may have been aware, Konoha is not really at peace for now. Sound and the Akatsuki are poised to strike. It just depends on when they do. That is why we need to prepare as early as now. The plan has been set. I will use the 'rookie nine' – and this includes team Gai – for the main part of the missions. As some of you have deduced, I will ask for the other smaller Hidden Villages to band under our force. I trust Gai's team to do this? Neji, if you may?"

Neji nodded his head slightly. "To my shinobi teammates, you will follow me. I will ask Gai-san to help. I am sure we can persuade the villages enough to band, Hokage-sama."

At this, Neji's pale eyes seemed to glint in a slightly threatening way. The chuunins shuddered to think what he would do if any of the villages ever thought of declining the banding. Shikamaru tilted his head and finally spoke. "Hmm, I think this means that I will take teams Kurenai and Asuma to stay in Konoha for information gathering and setting up the defense? Hn. At least it's not as tiring."

"Lazy as always, Genbu," Neji allowed a small smile and crossed his arms, his strangely soft glowing eyes looking towards Shikamaru as the lazy jounin merely shrugged.

"You know me, Byakku. As my current self likes to put it, 'Everything's so troublesome.' – and I agree very much with it," Shikamaru opened his equally strange sea-blue eyes that glowed mystically from within. He turned to the quiet, newly formed couple from team seven. "And thus, team Kakashi takes on the _special mission_…"

"W-Wait a minute! Why do _they _always get the most interesting missions?!" Kiba suddenly spoke up. He knew it sounded whiny, but he had to try. His team had barely the attention of the other team – what with the 'special case' at least one of the other team members had. He was vaguely aware of Hinata pulling at his hand.

"Silence," a voice, threatening and dangerous in its quiet, replied him. Kiba shivered at the tremors that Neji's voice was creepily giving him. His heart was thudded hard from it. He was scared. Neji's gaze was cold. "What Suzaku-sama says, stays."

The 'rookies' started. Suzaku-sama? Who – or what – was Suzaku-sama? And despite Hinata's and his mind's best regards to his safety, Kiba pressed on. "But wh—"

Kiba clammed up when Neji growled. The other chuunins froze. It was unnerving how the growl – and the large fact that _Neji_ had **_growled_** – could rival even Naruto when he was angry. Tsunade clapped her hands and smirked when she saw that it caused some of the teens – this, of course, didn't include Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and the still rooted Kiba – to jump. She grinned almost slyly at them.

"Mission begins."

-**_line_**-

"So…"

Golden, hazel-brown eyes looked calmly at the two teens standing hand in hand. The girl stood slightly behind the boy, her pink hair falling over her eyes to hide the calculating green eyes. The boy stood tall and proud before her, blue eyes bright and alert for the slightest sign of danger, and golden hair seeming to glow in the dimming office. The woman watching them sighed. _He looks so much like Arashi…_

"What is the 'special' mission you wanted to give us, Tsunade-baasan?"

Tsunade stretched from her desk languidly and waved to the quiet ANBU. The slim figure nodded back – though it seemed that it was more in acknowledgement than respect – and vanished in his unique gust of warm air. The office seemed even more emptier than it had been before. "The details will be told later by Kakashi. You will meet him tomorrow, at seven at the bridge just by the forest."

"But what are we going to do in the mission?" this time, it was Sakura who asked.

Tsunade glanced at her young student. She smiled softly when she realized that in the short week that the Uchiha had returned, the girl had made her phase into a maturing young woman. It made her warm inside to think of it. Nothing stirred the settling silence. Tsunade decided to break it in her answer. "You just have to go to a village, ask them for help, then escort the messenger. Easy as that."

Naruto snorted at the simplicity. "And you call that a 'special' mission?"

"Ah, but Naruto, you haven't heard the history of the Hidden Villages before…"

-**_line_**-

It was seven in the morning. The sun was rising almost lethargically from the horizon as the two chuunins of team seven made their way to the bridge. For the first time in so long, Kakashi was punctual. In fact, he was early. It didn't surprise the pair, however, after the grueling lesson about the Hidden Villages' past the day before. What surprised them was the sudden and unexpected whirl of warm wind and the appearance of the Hokage's 'personal' ANBU.

Kakashi seemed to smile kindly at the ANBU as he pocketed his perverted orange book. "Shall we?"

And without another word, they set off.

-**_line_**-

_I'm so excited, brother…to meet you again…_

…**to be continued…**

**BLEARGH**

**:watcheva:**

**So yahr…sorry the chapter's so short! The real action comes in the next one, I think? You'll get to know the 'hidden voice', either way. Took me long enough to type such a bloody...short...chappie...damn...fingers...!**

**Fingers: We're sorry! Please don't kill us! If- If you kill us, you won't be able to type your story!!**

**Hm. Still;**

**Ja.**


	9. Jam Lapan

**Yea! The revealing chapter!**

**Uh, that somehow sounds wrong…**

**Anyway, please read.**

**Dozo.**

**Loight **

**09CHAPTER 09 **

Team seven walked through the forest quietly. The sun was hiding, the clouds were dark and low, and the wind tugged roughly against their clothes as it rushed past them. It was going to rain. It was so clearly shown. And Naruto hated rain. Perhaps that was what made the blonde so irritated – that, and the small fact that he was annoyed of the silent and _egoistic_ ANBU walking with them as well.

"Why does he have to go with us, again? What's so special about him? He's not even part of team seven!" Naruto was muttering under his breath. He glared at the jounin with them when the man hit his head with the orange book. The blonde could almost see the gentle smile under the dark mask.

"Now, now…you shouldn't say that about the young man…" he chided. Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. Inwardly, Sakura sighed. She had also wanted to know about the ANBU. Still, Naruto had definitely gone over the line with his complains. She chided the blonde as well and smiled apologetically at the young man walking with them. She had a suspicion that the ANBU was a teenager – the ANBU was still shorter than Naruto, and possessed the obvious light tone of a growing young man – and respected the masked stranger. And despite the seemingly blank look the strange bird-like mask was giving her, Sakura didn't feel the least put out about it. Instead, she felt warm and safe. She started when Kakashi froze suddenly.

Team seven was instantly on alert. Even if they had no idea what the man was wary off, they had every right to trust their ex-team leader and teacher's instinct. It was far better than their own, anyway. They were barely aware as a clang of metal against metal was heard. It was only at the dark chuckle did they realize that the ANBU now stood behind Naruto, his kunai in a deadlock against Itachi's own. The blonde chuunin couldn't stifle his gasp of surprise at the sight. Had it really happen so fast that he hadn't even realized the movement?

"Do you intend to hide forever, Uchiha?" the owner of the dark chuckle stepped up to the dimming light, his large grin full of sharp teeth clearly discernable despite the shadows. Naruto and Sakura frowned at the question. 'Uchiha'? But wasn't the only Uchiha there Itachi? If that was so, why was Kisame, as Itachi's partner, saying that to the other? It didn't make sense. Apparently, Itachi didn't understand it as well. His red eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned to the blue-skinned man. An expression of realization, so slight no one could really tell if it was there, came upon his face. A deep frown now settled itself on him.

"Kisame, we're here to get the Kyuubi," Itachi's neutral, albeit slightly puzzled and annoyed, snap was directed towards the grinning being – for certainly, Kisame wasn't human. And no one would be touching his brother anytime soon. Besides, it was extremely suspicious to him that Kisame – _Kisame_ of all people! – was finding an interest in the younger Uchiha. If it were Orochimaru; now _that_ Itachi understood. He was more than appalled, of course when his 'weaker' partner didn't even turn to glance his way. The 'fishy', with pun intended, Akatsuki told him languidly to shut up.

"I have no interest in the petty mission, stupid mortal. It means nothing to me," were his exact words. Perhaps, if the shark-person's eyes hadn't suddenly turned a dazzling pale blue of the skies as compared to his usual pallid yellow, Itachi might have collected enough from his sudden derailed self to retort coldly. Kisame, on the other hand, wasn't bothering with his 'mortal' partner as he watched the ANBU heatedly. He wanted blood, and he wanted it now. "Come on, Uchiha, release that caged bird in you!"

Kisame's grin didn't waver as another ANBU, the exact replica of the one still holding the kunai against Itachi – "A kage bunshin (1)!" was Naruto's awed whisper – appeared behind him. The grin only grew wider. His voice seemed to vibrate with power as he whispered, "Now _that's_ more like it, little birdy…"

With a quick spin of legs, the ANBU had Kisame slammed hard into the ground. A large cloud of dust covered the area. Itachi made a sound of being irritated and jumped from the silent ANBU. With barely a sound, he released his own kage bunshin to surround the four shinobi. The ANBU nodded slightly to Kakashi and vanished with his accustomed warm gust. Itachi's frown grew deeper. No one got away from him so easily – and this especially applied to his _baby brother_. Kisame was gone, anyway—

"Aw, the widdle biwdy can't defeat me with his widdle scuff of boots?" the familiar dark chuckle startled the wary shinobi a few feet away. The large and too white teeth glinted almost maniacally in the shadowed sunlight. The startling blue eyes, bluer than even those of Naruto's, narrowed at the slim, masked figure standing quietly before him. His tone turned sharp and dangerous. "I told you to take off you mask, didn't I? Why don't you ever listen to me?!"

The ANBU stayed quiet as the larger figure stalked towards him. An eerie silence fell over the forest as the large shark neared the slender teen. A deep snarl was heard. The larger man was literally looking down into the masked face of the ANBU. With a speed that seemed unnatural even to the shinobi, Kisame yanked the mask off the smaller's face. A collective gasp – actually only from Naruto and Sakura – was heard. For staring coolly back was the still – though half, now – masked face of the younger Uchiha; Sasuke. Another deep snarl came menacingly from the blue-skinned man. "You _really_ make me mad, **_Suzaku_**…"

And Itachi decided then that enough was enough. The target was distracted, anyway. It was a good opportunity given to strike.

The ear shattering and inhuman roar accompanied him in his attack.

**-line-**

At two corners of the not-so-small Hidden Village of Konoha, two pairs of equally strange eyes and their heads snapped towards a silent cry. Their calm composure was instinctively switched to one of dread and fear. It frightened the 'mortals' around them.

"**He is here!**"

**-line-**

Naruto couldn't help but cover his ears as the loud cry reverberated in his ears. Once again, he was barely aware of the clashing of metal against metal. He looked up in shock – once again – at the sight of his team leader Kakashi, his kunai in a – déjà vu – deadlock against Itachi's own. The gray-haired jounin seemed to _smirk_ behind his mask. "Well, Itachi, shouldn't you be retreating right about now?"

To Naruto's utmost disbelief – and humor, if he were in that mood – Itachi smirked back. The kunai was pushed harder against Kakashi. A loud 'poof' alerted him to the pink-haired kunoichi who was currently on a joy kill ride against Itachi. Even as he turned to help his newly found girlfriend, he heard Itachi's retort – and he had no idea why it stuck in his head. "Despite the unexpected outcome of the simple mission, and I admit that I was astounded at it as well, it still has to go on. And I can deal with you myself just fine."

There was the loud screech of metal sliding against metal. The skies let out its first grumble.

"Mangekyo; Sharingan!"

**-line-**

Sasuke forced his limbs to still. He was afraid—

Wait, no, he was _terrified_. He knew, as he stood unmoving before the fully-possessed-by-a-crazed-celestial-beast-man that he could die anytime. He wasn't sure that he could stand up against it again. Yes, he had stood up against the beast before – oh, about a few centuries ago – and had barely escaped with his sanity, and now, he was expected to fight the bloody spirit again.

_**You know I can hear your thoughts, widdle bwother…?**_

Sasuke cursed inwardly and cringed at the cold, echoing chuckle in his head. He kindly told the voice to shove off. It did, only to still be heard outside. The raven rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his luck in having two maniacal brothers – one a normal want-to-test-my-skills-gone-crazy, though insanely strong as a mortal, brother, and the other just a plain crazy, insanely strong as a celestial spirit, brother. He crossed his arms as the larger person went on laughing as befitting his mind – maniacally.

"Are you quite done, yet? First you _scream_ and now you _giggle_— Doesn't your voice get tired of it?"

Pale blue eyes snapped dangerously to the small figure. A dark growl bubbled from the blue throat. "You know I can snap your puny neck in half so easily?"

Sasuke felt the adrenaline tingle in his limbs and smirked. "Don't underestimate me, my celestial brother **_Shoryuu_**…"

The two figures abruptly vanished – one in a sharp snap of cold wind, and another in a warm gust of air.

**-line-**

Naruto could feel his adrenaline pumping steadily through his veins. The Kyuubi's chakra threatened to unleash itself fully in the wake of the battle. Naruto could barely restrain it. In his peripheral vision, he saw Sakura crouched in defense at his back. Before him, Kakashi parried a volley of dark shuriken.

Itachi was finally caught by a carefully aimed kunai thrown by Kakashi and Naruto was instantly on the move with his well-practiced rasengan (2). The bleeding Akatsuki unexpectedly turned into a log, however, and Naruto _heard_ the smirk that was behind him. He turned too slow, it seemed, to Sakura's scream of fright and Kakashi's silent warning. It was too late to pull a kage bunshin, now. All he could do—

Naruto blinked as he rolled onto the ground, a little winded but with barely a scratch on his body. What—

He watched with wide eyes at the calm, slender figure that looked more than a little worse for wear. _Sasuke…_

The heavy body of the blue-skinned man, still grinning madly but certainly weak, slid from the raven teen's grasp limply. Sasuke's eyes were glowing a deeper crimson red that rivaled the Sharingan and even Naruto's Kyuubi eyes. Quiet words passed pale, pink lips as he looked at the fallen Akatsuki. "Sayonara, ani." (3)

With another inhuman scream, the man known as Kisame writhed in agony as he burned with a strange, glowing blue fire. Naruto held Sakura tight as she sobbed and held her hands against her ears. Naruto looked stricken and even Kakashi and Itachi – the elder Uchiha was currently on the ground, shocked to the spot after the more unexpected yank of his cloak by his own _baby brother_ – looked even the slightest disturbed about the scream. Sasuke's face betrayed no emotion despite the torn mask. His face even seemed coldly beautiful in the pale flames. The strange blue eyes locked with Sasuke's flaming ones. A pained grin was seen. "I will kill you brother! I swear upon that! In my next life, I will kill you! For now, enjoy my curse of ever-lasting tragedy for all your lives…"

And with a final guttural moan and maniac laughter, the man vanished. Unabashed shock and silence overcame the forest again. The slight rustling of the torn clothes Sasuke now wore as he turned to his other brother broke it. "Itachi…"

The only living Akatsuki in the forest path stared coldly down at his younger. His three tomoe Sharingan spun wildly. "Otou-tou…" (4)

Sasuke sighed as he stopped just a few steps away from his brother. "Aniki…the past is the past. Let it rest as that. The Sharingan…" – here, Sasuke touched Itachi's face. Itachi was too shocked to move away. No one had touched him like that since his clan's massacre. "The Sharingan, you will unfortunately no longer own. Now sleep and awake a new man…"

A strangled cry escaped the older Uchiha and his eyes abruptly rolled back into his head. Sasuke caught him as he collapsed and lowered himself to the ground gently. He sighed and kissed his older brother's cheek as he had done in the past. "I'm sorry, 'nii-san…"

**-line-**

A relieved sigh. Then, almost immediately after, a frustrated one.

"Ugh, I know I shouldn't feel happy, but I can't help it! He had been a total shit in the past."

Confused and concerned looks were shot his way but the longhaired shinobi with his strange eyes smiled. He easily shot back to his friend, "It's okay. I feel the same, you know?"

The other snorted. "And _you're_ supposed to be the 'Tiger of Justice'? It makes me afraid of my _own_ morals…"

"Aw, _wise_crack, I didn't know you doubted your morals."

"Shut up. And don't call me wisecrack," the spikier haired teen grumbled. Both sobered up suddenly. "Got to go…"

The older nodded curtly and turned to the questioning team. He smirked at their confusion. "Shoryuu's dead."

But the main cause of confusion to the people around them was that they were on the opposite ends of the Village. Tenten's question of disbelief summed up everyone's thoughts easily.

"Who the hell are you talking to, Neji?!"

**-line-**

Shikamaru yawned as he peered over Naruto's shoulder. A small frown graced his face at the scene.

"So the drama's over?"

The blonde's yelp of shock twitched a smirk back onto his face. It amused him very much how jumpy chuunins were. Then again, he had been a chuunin himself. He sighed at the cycle of thoughts that began to grow from just that one point. _So troublesome…_

"Nara," a calm voice broke the cycle. Shikamaru allowed a lopsided smile on his face. He threw in a respectful nod for the heck of it. Still feeling in the mood, he greeted the raven on the ground before him rather cheekily, "Yo, boss."

A soft smile returned the light tease and Shikamaru danced a small victory at the achievement. He, a plain shinobi – though a genius with an IQ of 200 and with the fate of having the power of one of the four celestial beasts – had made Uchiha Sasuke, the ice princess of Konoha, _smile_. Okay, maybe the other members of the more infamous team seven had done that first, but he was still the first _outsider_ to have done it.

"Don't call me that, Shikamaru. I don't think it suits me," Sasuke rolled his eyes slightly. His face grew solemn as he turned to the unconscious man in his arms. "Take him to Tsunade. Let no one else see him before she does."

Shikamaru was silent as he moved automatically to sling the man across his back. He was barely surprised that the man was light. He was Genbu, after all – the great and wise tortoise should be able to carry a mere 'mortal' without much effort. He paused as Sasuke stood slowly. He caught the mesmerizing orbs of fire and nodded at the silent order. **_Tell her not to hurt him. Tell her he does not remember. Tell her I forgive and he repents. Tell her…tell her that I still love him…_**

The young jounin smiled sincerely and bowed low. "Yes, Suzaku-sama."

Next stop, the Hokage Tower.

**-line-**

Sakura watched, quite dumbfounded, as Shikamaru bowed low – and did he just seem _respectful_?!– to Sasuke. It dumbfounded her even more when the pineapple haired teen replied reverently, "Yes, Suzaku-sama."

The name seemed to strike a chord of curiosity in Sakura. Where had she heard it before? She blinked as Shikamaru's form vanished in a splash of water. The strange teleporting techniques the lazy jounin and Neji were using were still very strange to her. It didn't really follow any chakra laws, either way…

"Why—Wh—What the hell was that, Sasuke?!" Naruto's loud voice easily broke the awkwardly settling silence that followed. Sasuke's eyes were dark obsidian again when he looked to the blonde. Sakura's eyes caught them and beseeched him for an answer as well. Kakashi only smiled kindly and lifted his orange book. Sasuke sighed.

He would have to have a _long_ talk with his teammates.

**TBC**

**BLEARGH**

**:watcheva:**

(1) kage bunshin means shadow clones for those of you who don't know…

(2) Rasengan – the spinning sphere of controlled chakra that the Yondaime, Jiraiya, and now Naruto, uses.

(3) "Sayonara, ani." – simply means "Goodbye, my older brother."

(4) Otou-tou – little brother

**yahr. That's that then. Hopefully it wasn't too confusing..? sigh…**

**well, next chappie's about the strange village. I just wanna move real quick to all that jazz, you know. I guess that's why I don't have explanations…ah, well. You want me to explain more, I guess you'll have to ask me in your review or mail me…**

**yea.**

**Thankiez for reading.**


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